Or more precisely, just under two hours to go till Fairtrade Fortnight 2011 kicks off. This year's theme is "Show your Label". I could add "and do so with pride". Whether it's buying a Fairtrade banana or a jar of coffee or a Fairtrade cotton dress or going the extra mile and buying your loved one a Fairtrade and Fairmined gold ring - do it with pride and with love. There are so many varieties
From the Reading Post: The Lib Dem councillor at the centre of the "racist" Twitter storm has been suspended from his party. Cllr Warren Swaine quoted an Ali G catchphrase "Is it because I is black" in a tweet about mixed race Labour MP Chuka Umunna when he was appearing on Question Time... Henk van Klaveren, Liberal Democrat national office spokesman, said: "The Liberal Democrats have a zero tolerance policy on racist comments and behaviour. The regional party has suspended Councillor Warren Swaine pending further investigation." And from Political Scrapbook: With a meeting approving cuts of £65 million and 1,300 ...
With the NO2AV campaign using scaremonger tactics it is time for everyone in the UK to stand up to them. It is time for us all to say YES to Fairer Votes and not let them use the tactics of the bully and the liar any more.
I was most annoyed to find that "Product Placement" (where goods can be advertised as part of a TV programme's proceedings - something brought in by last Labour Government) is beginning very soon, maybe tomorrow, with a show called "This Morning" on ITV. The product - a Nescafe coffee machine. No mention of it being Fairtrade Coffee - and this is the beginning of Fairtrade fortnight. I do hope I am wrong and the papers forgot to mention it is Fairtrade - but otherwise - ideas on how to campaign and who to contact ( I'm not a TV watcher, ...
I simply couldn't believe the article I was reading on the Guardian website this evening when it proclaimed that in a recent Populus survey that "Just over half of respondents - 52% - agreed with the proposition that "Muslims create ... Continue reading →
I have been far more vocal in some of my criticisms of Nick Clegg than many in my party but that has been because I have been disappointed in some of the policy decisions that he has taken and my ... Continue reading →
Temple Meads Railway Station The chance of a Major new Transport Hub moved closer when Lib Dem Transport minister Norman Baker visited Bristol. Lib Dem Cabinet member Gary Hopkins said the site could be used for rapid transit buses, taxis & conventional buses. Speaking on The Politics show this Sunday - Everything is pointing to us getting control of plot 6 which is currently owned by the soon to be abolished South West Regional Development Agency & Network Rail - commented Cllr Hopkins. The site currently is a rough car park on the Western side of Temple Meads. A transport ...
[IMG: Irish Fest in KC] [IMG: Creative Commons License] photo credit: BlackburnPhoto It's been thrilling to watch the results coming in from the Irish election over this weekened. Veteran Irish broadcaster Dr. John Bowman called this election the most siginificant in Ireland since 1918. But what really is stunning is the turnout: 70.1%. The Irish have been hell and high water recently, and still have dark times to live through. But at least there is now a government coming into place with a strong mandate for confident action.
Many people in Consett are probably not aware that the parishioners of Christ Church in Consett have found themselves footing a bill of nearly £10,000 for the repair of their landmark clock. I say "their" clock, but the truth is we all share in this clock which provides us with an audible and visible time-check as we use the town. If, like me, you are grateful to the church for protecting and conserving this bit of our town's fabric you could drop a contribution in (cheques payable to Consett PCC) at 10 Aynsley Terrace. It would be very much appreciated. ...
With the no side continuing with the lie that AV will cost £250 million, and having no other argument in their ads, I've built two tools over the last week. The first is like my Labour-o-matic (created during the General Election). ARGHtoAV allows you to generate random campaign slogans for the no team. Like "17th century peasants need a fifth dimension NOT an alternative voting system" and "Hard-working families need to accept the status quo NOT an alternative voting system". The second is a step up, and a bit like the MyDavidCameron site, where you can create your own graphic ...
Next weekend sees two further consultations on proposed developments in the local area; Sainsbury's will be holding a consultation on the proposed redevelopment of their Nine Elms store, on Wandsworth Road. This follows a consultation session late last year, and presents revised plans with improved roof gardens and enhancements to the pedestrian environment. Artist's impression of the proposed new store. Copyright Sainsbury's. The consultation meeting will be held at the Nine Elms store on Wandsworth Road, at the following times:Friday 4th March, 14:00 - 20:00Saturday 5th March, 10:00 - 16:00The plans can also be viewed online at http://www.sainsburys-nineelms.co.uk/. The Covent ...
Full results, as far as we can tell at this stage (differences from my predictions of yesterday are in bold; cf also my predictions of Friday). NB that four seats are still counting. Apologies for length, but this is dramatic stuff. Fianna Fáil Fine Gael Labour Sinn Féin Green Others Comments Carlow-Kilkenny 1 3 1 - - - My first prediction was right; FF unable to take second seat by 790 votes to third FG. Cavan-Monaghan 1 3 - 1 - - Underestimated FG, overestimated SF ability to take second seat (FG win by 530 votes). Clare 1 2 1 ...
Back in 2005 I wrote about Georges Delerue's soundtrack for the 1967 film Our Mother's House: Away from the film Delerue's music is pleasant, but in context I know of no score which so alters the mood of its film. Our Mother's House is a dark story of a family of children who conceal the death of their mother to avoid being taken into care. Just as the deception is about to be discovered there absentee father turns up and we discover things are not quite as they seemed. This could have been a distasteful film, yet the music - ...
The Liberal Democrats are claiming victory over the scrapping of Essex County Council's failed Banking on Essex scheme following the closure announcement made at Tuesday's County Council budget-setting meeting. The Liberal Democrats opposed the scheme from the start. [IMG: bank note] Long-term critic of the scheme, Lib Dem County Councillor David Kendall, said "When Banking On Essex was launched in December 2009, its stated aim was to become a muncipal bank. The County Council put aside £50 million to support the scheme and spent £380,000 setting it up. By May 2010, only twelve loans had been approved, with a value ...
A Freedom of Information request submitted by the BBC has revealed that Labour-run Lambeth Council has failed to collect a mammoth £9 million in Council Tax just in the 2009/10 financial year. At a time when Labour has approved savage cuts to services in Lambeth, it is galling for the borough's taxpayers that such poor collection rates exist, with Lambeth being the worst out of the 32 London Boroughs. Such cuts to services could have been lessened if Lambeth was able to effectively collect the taxes that it levies. In addition, the news came as Lib Dems announced their proposed ...
Thirty years ago yesterday Alistair Gray's masterpiece Lanark was published. I read it only ten years ago and it blew me away. His nightmare vision of a future Glasgow is extraordinary. When will this amazing writer become Scotland's first Nobel Prize Winner for Literature? The Mitchell Library in Glasgow will be hosting an exhibition. You can see a slideshow about the book at the link below. http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/arts/lanark.shtml
Last week saw me miss the show and my blogging commentary was brief. Well tonight, I'm back! Kerry Katona was voted out last week and all that can be said about that is that she did well to last this long in the competition. Tonight we saw the final 7 contestants perform rhythms from around the world. It was a greatly enjoyable, internationalist feel to the evening. The Final 7 - Riverdance on Ice! The first rhythm from around the world was from the USA as Laura Hamilton danced on ice to the Charleston. She opened the night with a ...
The government has announced the funds that will be given to councils to help improve the standard of housing, bringing them up to the Decent Homes Standard. As part of the £2.1bn proposals, Lambeth will be receiving over £100m over the next four years to help clear the backlog of repairs - this is more money than received by any other area in the country, recognising the need to improve the standard of housing in our area. In addition, Lib Dem MPs have successfully lobbied the government to drop the proposal to reduce housing benefit for long-term jobless; Bermondsey MP ...
I first came across the name of Robert Oakeshott in the late 1970's. He was singing an old Liberal song to a new tune. Jo Grimond published The Common Welfare in 1978. In the chapter on the Organisation of Industry Grimond writes of Oakeshott crediting him with introducing the author to the Mondragon workers' co-operatives in the Spanish Basque region. This blog has written before on Mondragon, Employee Ownership, Ownership for All etc and certainly see it as an important element in redistributing wealth and building a fairer and sustainable economy.Grimond then reports on a joint visit that he an ...
As mentioned in our article earlier this month, the proposal for the construction of two towers by Kylun Ltd on the Vauxhall "Island Site" at the centre of the gyratory was discussed by Lambeth's Planning Applications Committee on 15th February. The proposed development at Vauxhall. Copyright Squire and Partners. The meeting was specifically to discuss the pedestrian environment; Lib Dem Councillor Brian Palmer, who sits on the committee, spoke out about the necessity of having a pedestrian crossing at Wandsworth Road, between the development and St George Wharf, to ensure that the gyratory is "tamed" and to protect the safety ...
Stewart Findlay, who is acting as the local co-ordinator for the upcoming Scottish Boys' Brigade Bands Contest, that is taking place at the Caird Hall on Saturday 12th March, has been in touch with me about promoting this excellent event on www.dundeewestend.com. The event is open to the public with doors opening at 10.30am and finishing around 3.30pm. Guests may come and go as they please throughout the day. Entry to the event is only £3 and £2 (concessions) and tickets can be purchased on the day of the event at the main entrance to the Caird Hall. Bands from ...
A resident recently advised me that " ... the pothole in Patons Lane at the entrance to the Servite sheltered housing is rapidly expanding to deep crater status." I raised this with the City Council and am advised : "An order has been raised to fill this pothole in Paton's Lane with a timescale for completion of twenty eight days or sooner." In Perth Road, a resident called to say there is water gathering/road drainage problems at the bus stop on Perth Road at the Post Office and at the crossing at Nisa. After raising with the City Council, I ...
International Baroque Players: Journey of Discovery Apollo & Dionysus Welcome to tonight's concert! Thanks for joining us and coming out to hear tonight's programme, we hope that you will enjoy the mixture of wellknown and less familiar works. We're still fresh from being featured as one of the highlights of 2010 on BBC Radio 3's Early Music Show and are hugely looking forward to our next few projects. More details are included over the page and we hope to see you again in the future. In the meantime, do come and say hello to any of us in the interval ...
As we reported in October, St George Wharf has been seeking planning consent for the construction of a commuter pier., which would be located at the centre of the development. Last week Lambeth Council granted planning consent for the pier, bringing us a step closer to river services being able to stop at Vauxhall. When granting their consent, Planning Officers also applied conditions to ensure that fish and other wildlife using the river will not be impacted by the development. Whilst the final pattern of services is not yet known, the Putney to Blackfriars commuter service currently passes Vauxhall; if ...
Cerebus – the full three hundred issue story – is, if not the greatest art-work of the twentieth century, at least a strong contender for that role. That may sound like hyperbole, but it's not intended to be. And it's not a statement made through ignorance. Place it up against any of the obvious contenders ...
In his excellent recent book Zombie Economics: how dead ideas still walk among us John Quiggin, of the University of Queensland, provides an accessible account of some key economic ideas. These ideas provided the intellectual rationale for substantial social changes we have witnessed over the last 30 years. Many of these ideas boil down to ...
Myself, Sue McGuire and Andrew Stunell MP Yesterday I attended the Northwest Lib Dem Spring Conference at Romiley. When we arrived at the venue we were met by a group of about 5 protestors with scruffy placards. I'm not sure what their purpose was but they were badge wearing members of the Labour Party. They didn't actually do anything - just stood there in the cold. Apparently their Twitter or Facebook later made claims that there were hundreds of protesters there - there weren't. Another example of the Labour party trying to create something out of nothing. The conference was ...
In my life I have had the privilege of knowing some amazing and inspirational people. On 14th February we lost one of the most amazing, my friend Gill Dye. It has taken me this long to feel able to write something, partly because it has been so painful to do so, but also because I so want what I say to do her justice. Most people will never have heard of her, she got on with her mission quietly but with the kind of determination that moves mountains. Despite her failing health, she convinced us all that she would get ...
Ruth Davis and Sue Walker celebrate the weight limit they have been capaigning for Campaigners are celebrating after a long campaign to set a weight limit for lorries on a busy Yate road has got the final go ahead. Road signs which will ban vehicles weighing more than 7.5 tonnes from using Station Road will be installed this week. Cllr Sue Walker, who has championed this issue, said: "The problem is the big lorries from the warehousing and distribution centres going up Station Road, on occasion going the wrong side of islands etc, and making it dangerous for locals trying ...
Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 210th weekly round-up from the Lib Dem blogosphere ... Featuring the seven most popular stories beyond Lib Dem Voice according to click-throughs from the Aggregator (20th – 26th February, 2011), together with a hand-picked quintet, normally courtesy of LibDig, you might otherwise have missed. Don't forget: you can sign up to receive the Golden Dozen direct to your email inbox — just click here — ensuring you never miss out on the best of Lib Dem blogging. As ever, let's start with the most popular post, and work our way down: 1. New ...
Welcome to my weekly round-up of two blogging highlights from the past week: the post that I found most interesting or enjoyable to write and the post from someone else that I found most interesting or entertaining. A post from me... Economic statistic of the week: how the cuts compare A Parliamentary answer has revealed how, when it comes to most services, it turns out Labour was planning bigger cuts than the government: Against the benchmark of what public spending would have been if welfare rules and the like had been left unchanged and other public expenditure increased in line ...
What would the Orange Book look like if updated in 2012 but with the remit of solving todays socioeconomic problems? It is often, if not typically, portrayed as the engine of an economic-liberal putsch which elevated the 'right-wing' of the party into its ascendancy and thus naturally opened the way to coalition with the Tories; previously thought unthinkable. I still see it as free thinking from within a modern social liberal party which contemplated the failings of Labour whom originally seemed to have sufficient parallels to go along with, but whose tenure turned into uncontrolled public spending without quality control, ...
An analysis of the Roman legal tradition, describing Justinian's crucial role in establishing a permanent legal code, and then taking it area by area, starting from philiosophical first principles about society and government and explaining how the law developed. Strongly recommended to my lawyer friends. I then go on to discuss democracy and sex (warning - gruesome details regarding the latter).
Acocks Green Baptist Church and Stockfield Community Association have issued an update on their plans to replace the Glynn Edwards Hall at the back of the Church on Alexander Road. It gives feedback on the consultation sessions they have held about their plans and includes both positive feedback and some significant concerns (which were previously referred to in my post about the last Acocks Green Neighbourhood Forum meeting on 16th February). The overall view from the Acocks Green Baptist Church and Stockfield Community Association is that "there is considerable support for the plans and encouragement to move forward." They do ...
Lib Dem Voice's own Ryan Cullen (and the man who gives us the great Liberal Democrat blogs aggregator) has put together a handy tool for generating your own No To AV campaign slogans, based on their recent advertising campaign. I suspect the No campaign may not like quite all the slogans you can generate at http://av.argh.tc/o-matic/ though...
A couple of weeks ago I took part in a BBC Local Radio phone in (not Radio Merseyside) about how much councillors get paid. I gave a description of what I do for the £10,200 I get as a councillor ... Continue reading →
Readers who had seen my post on Public services are different may remember that somebody had been fraudulently buying up phone contracts under my name. Last Friday I received this letter from the Carphone Warhouse UK Fraud Department. Apart from the clumsy, evasive wording of the letter, what really hit me was its font. Comic Sans should have died of ridicule years ago. There's even a website called bancomicsans.com. Actually, Comic Sans has its place. Its rather childlike appearance makes it quite appropriate for use in primary schools or nurseries, for example. But what on earth is a fraud department ...
I was surprised by how much I enjoyed Destiny of the Daleks. This is mainly for reasons other than the Daleks or Davros: Lalla Ward's arrival is a breath of fresh air, as she takes on the role of junior clown to Baker, and Adams' humorous twists to Nation's script are very entertaining. Indeed, one feels that he has got the bit between his teeth as script editor to make Who into what he had wanted it to be in the Hartnell era (he was the first real fan to grow up to get into the series). And the basic ...
Local Payroll Manager, Tony Joannou-Coetzee, is to campaign for a Yes vote on May the 5th in East Grinstead. Aged 47 and based in East Grinstead he has been recognised by the Yes to Fairer Votes campaign as one of 100 leading "Faces for Change". With the AV bill finally on the statute book the Yes campaign has stepped up a gear across the nation with Tony leading the push as the campaign looks to speak directly to millions of voters and build on the lead it has developed in recent polls of the public. Explaining his support for the ...
There are two cuts the Tories made that I highlighted at the budget meeting. Together with the secrecy, they are among the reasons why the Lib Dems voted against the budget. And what do the Tories do about that? Surprise, surprise, try to suggest we voted against the budget because of the 0% increase. In other words the Tories are trying to make people think we wanted the Council Tax to go up. They have even sent emails to their supporters on just that theme. For goodness sake. It's that sort of thing that gives politics a bad name. But ...
Government and regulation should be carried out at the level best fitted for the task in hand. Let me give an example. While it is usual and right for the provision and management of waste collection and road maintenance to be at local level, the safety of medicines is of equal interest and importance to us all, regardless of nationality, so there is a European Medicines Agency to regulate the medicines market centrally, saving the need for and cost of 27 agencies at member state level, each doing their own thing. There are yet more efficiencies to be achieved by ...
I've been somewhat reticent about doing this, partly because of the way it's oddly reminiscent of the playground and lists of who happens to be who's friend, but I've now set up a public Facebook page for my Council work. So, you can now feel free to like me or ignore me on there as you wish.
Earlier this month BBC4 ran a documentary "The Secret Life of Waves", by documentary-maker David Malone. Apart from explaining the usual stuff about ocean waves, he went off into to a philosophical and spiritual dimension, comparing waves to life itself. I found this very moving. It was also nice to see that non-religious professionals are allowed to offer profound thoughts on spiritual matters. Normally as soon as you mention "spiritual", assorted religious types start to gather like vultures around a carcass, all too often offering no more than empty dogma. Radio 4's Thought for the Day doesn't allow non-religious speakers. ...
Well yesterday was the first 'Have Your Say' event in Knaphill and it was a resounding success! Despite the best efforts of the weather in the morning with the pouring rain, the skies soon cleared enough to bring people out ... Continue reading →
Birkdale Focus reveals that the young Matthew Oakeshott received the approval of Jo Grimond for his research into worker co-operatives - and hopes that the mature version will lead a revival of interest in the idea among Liberal Democrats. What did Peter Mandelson think of Ed Miliband's victory in the Labour leadership election? LabourList will tell you: "It was a photo finish [and] I felt terrible for David. I felt even more worried for the party." Peter Black AM keeps us up to date with Larry's progress at 10 Downing Street: "Cats do like to present their latest kill to ...
The first thing that strikes VN about "No More Idols" is just how many tracks on it we already know – "Let you go", "Hypest Hype", "End Credits", and "Blind Faith" have all been radio smashes that have long caused the volume to be turned up in VN Towers. There are also some big hitters ...
Central Beds Council ducked out of conceding recently that our upper schools under-perform when measured against the new English Baccalaureate standard. At the latest six-monthly meeting of Central Beds Council with town and parish councils, delegates were encouraged to leave on the tables any questions that they were unable to raise and have answered during the conference. I can understand why this question found its way to the bottom of the pile on the night, but I'm glad it was asked and that Central Beds will be addressing the issue. "Q: The outcomes achieved by our Upper Schools in CBC ...
The other day I blogged about the Leicester Mercury report revealing that Harborough District Council is paying contractors £53,000 a year (not including Labour costs) to clean the public conveniences on the Commons car park in Market Harborough. The Harborough Mail also has the story: in just 20 minutes the Mail was able to obtain estimates for the same job from three separate cleaning firms, all of which came in at under £25,000, based on a full-time cleaner working seven days-a-week. A director of one of the firms, who asked to remain anonymous, described the £53,000 figure as 'horrendous' while ...
Classic contribution to the referendum debate on Assembly powers with thanks to the Syniadau blog for bringing it to my attention. Simple message really, vote yes on Thursday.
A quick follow up to our story about the lively debate within the European Commission over the push from Chris Huhne and others for bigger emission cut targets – Denmark has now backed Chris Huhne's position, as The Guardian reported: The Danish government has stepped into the fray over Europe's climate change targets, boosting the attempts of a group of member states to opt for more ambitious emissions cuts. Denmark on Thursday set out its own vision for energy supplies in 2050, showing how the country could meet its aim of becoming independent of coal, oil and natural gas by ...
Meanwhile a short walk up the coast from Birkdale Avocets have arrived. The local RSPB Blog for the Marshshide Reserve records: 4 Avocets have been out on Rimmer's Marsh today but they didn't have the stage to themselves. Oystercatchers are plotting nesting sites on Rainford's Island while on the reserve as a whole there are still thousands of Pink-feet coming and going with a couple of Barnacle Geese seen with them
[IMG: Microsoft Word paste menu] The launch this week of churnalism.com has put the spotlight on one of the less glorious aspects of the media - the tendency to take a press release and largely reprint it without adding much in the way of analysis, critique or additional content. However understandable the reasons may sometimes be for churnalism, in particular small budgets and over-pressed staff, the net result is not a good one for a healthy media and was one of the targets of Nick Davies in his seminal attack on modern media standards, Flat Earth News. Good PR practioners ...
Many potential students and their families are concerned about the prospects of getting a mortgage in the future when paying off the new higher tuition fees. Whilst the new fees are as unpalatable to Liberal Democrats as they are to potential students, and fostered upon both by the underrepresentation of Liberal Democrats in parliament compared to how people voted, it seems that they will not make it any harder than it already is to get a mortgage. In the article linked below, independent financial expert, Martin Lewis (MoneySavingExpert.com), provides his overview, pro's and cons and actually considers them similar to ...
Readers of today's Observer story by Toby Helm regarding Lib Dem ministers contributing 10% of their salaries to the party may have thought it had a familiar ring to it. That'd be because it was first reported back in December, as we blogged back then. Ah well, nothing like old news [IMG: :-)]
We have asked the council to look at the big puddle at the entrance to Odins Road, little point in having the dropped kerb
A few reported in Cranmore Place, another road that should be re-surfaced
Here is my most recent column from the Muswell Hill Flyer and the Highgate Handbook: I declare an interest. I am not enjoying having to go to the sub-post office on Archway Road instead of the one that closed in Highgate Village. I expect I am not alone in this! It may be that there are no queues there - but certainly on each and every occasion I have been - there has been a long queue (often into the street). Unforgivably – Labour closed five of Hornsey & Wood Green's sub-post offices – despite huge campaigns by local people, ...
I'm actually rather proud of the United Nations this morning. Amidst the carnage and mayhem unfolding in Lybia at this moment, the United Nations voted in the early hours of this morning GMT to impose sanctions on Colonel Gaddafi's regime. Not only did it do so, but it actually did so unanimously. As an internationalist, I'm a big fan of the concept of the United Nations. Indeed, one of the greatest thrills of my life (it's sad I know) was when I visited the UN HQ in New York City back in 2005. Actually seeing for myself the Security Council ...
Much comment in the newspapers recently about the nature of David Cameron's government and its particular predilection for u-turning. There are plenty of examples of this and, to be fair, it is difficult to think of another administration that has so readily and so often reneged on its stated policies (post-Coalition). Of course, every time the Coalition has u-turned, it has been met with an avalanche of derision and mockery from Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition. But nonetheless, this government may actually have achieved something important in its constant u-turning; namely the rehabilitation of the u-turn from a context of humiliation ...
There are two more family court stories in The Telegraph. This one strikes me as one where the children were taken moreso because of conflicts between the mother and the authorities than for any other reason. Banning her from having any contact is an extreme outcome which can only really be read as some form of punishment for the mother - not what the system is supposed to be about.This one is
Scrutiny is absolutely vital to ensure good government and woe-betide any member of the ruling elite who is caught sleeping on the job. And yet that is what has happened to the newest occupant of Number Ten Downing Street. This morning's Independent on Sunday reports that Larry the Cat, who was brought into Downing Street to sort out the rodent problem, is more interested in catnapping than rat-catching: It is understood that the rescue cat spends most of the day asleep, waking occasionally to startle staff with a sharp claw to the calves. And then there's the fur. David Cameron's ...
The Financial Times reports, Britain's boardrooms are "in crisis" over their failure to increase the number of women in their ranks and will face quotas if they do not embrace new voluntary targets to double the female representation on boards within four years. Lord Davies, who has been leading a government inquiry on the issue of women in the boardroom, has recommended that FTSE 100 companies aim for at least a quarter of their boards to be made up of women by 2015, while FTSE 350 companies should clearly outline the percentage of women they expect to see on their ...
So we reach the end of the Scott Pilgrim saga, with Scott doing battle against the last of Ramona's evil ex-boyfriends, this time the sinister Gideon, who keeps his ex-girlfriends in cryogenic storage inside his head. O'Malley is much more explicit here that the whole series is about how we come to grips with the demons of our own personal past; Scott and Ramona confront and defeat them (after deadly and literally heart-rending struggle, told through the medium of comic-book adaptation of video-games), Gideon is unable to move on and loses. Many good lines, of which my favourite is where ...
Kent council rarely inspires confidence in matters financial, particularly under Paul Carter's Tory administration. Today's Kent on Sunday front page makes grim reading, it's been clear for many years that KCC has been over staffed and as inevitable cuts are being made, it's suggested by the taxpayers alliance that some redundancy payments will be overgenerous No surprise really, unfortunately those in the private sector generally get just the legal minimum. Perhaps KCC are expecting a windfall from Iceland, I wouldn't put Kent Tories in charge of the kitty for tea and biscuits let alone sliming down the counties fat cats. ...
The Holy Face of Jesus I firmly wish that my face reflecting the intimate pains of my soul, the suffering and love of my heart, be more honoured! Whoever gazes upon me already consoles me. (Our Lord Jesus Christ to Sister Pierina) Daily Preparatory Prayer O Most Holy and Blessed Trinity, through the intercession of Holy Mary, ...
So just how many cinema's have there been in the local area? I'm counting at least 7 down the Kilburn High Road (only 1 now) 1 on Belsize Road in Kilburn The current 1 at Swiss Cottage 1 on the Finchley Road 2 on Heath Street, NW3 (1 still there) and 2 on Haverstock Hill (1 still there) I make that 13 in the past (3 today) Any other's I've missed?
The announcement of each of the following cuts has provoked protests which seem to me to be perfectly justifiable. They are listed in no particular order of priority, except that I believe the cuts to the BBC World Service to be the most stupid. BBC World Service Sure Start Probation Service Libraries Women's Refuges Local government services to the elderly, roads, SEN support and fire and rescue services Unniversity teaching in humanities Adult learning needs UK Film Council (which financed that nice little earner, The King's Speech") Coastguards Forestry Commission (there is a cut to funding as well as the ...
i) births and deaths 27 February 1946: birth of Tom Chadbon, who played Duggan in City of Death (1979) and Merdeen in The Mysterious Planet (1986), and also various Big Finish roles including Harry Sullivan's younger brother Will in the second Sarah Jane Smith series. ii) broadcast anniversaries 27 February 1965: broadcast of "Escape to Danger", third episode of the story we now call The Web Planet. Ian escapes and joins with Vrestin of the Menoptera; the Aniums forces the Doctor to help it. 27 February 1971: broadcast of fifth part of The Mind of Evil. The Master and the ...
I was delivering leaflets on Friday and people are taking them off me and recognising them. The recognition is usually good as I get a lot of comments that they are appreciated. Even on Friday I was getting similar reactions except for one. A man rushed out of his house to tell me that this was the third piece of junk mail that he had received that day. I explained that it wasn't junk mail but a means to let him know what was going on and more importantly, a means for him to get in touch with us and ...
