Not perhaps what Patrick Leigh Fermor would have said but he would have recognised the paradoxical saying of Epimenides the Cretan two and a half millenia before he was born. Reflecting on this road sign, I realised that it is the same paradox. The sign says "Sign not in use" which means that we cannot take the message on the sign to be true, in which case the sign is in use which means that we
Andrew Stunell MP, Lib Dem Minister for Local Government who visited Reading a couple of month ago was right to highlight the fact that 40% of carbon emissions each year are generated by existing buildings. The Government's Green Deal - a key plank of the Lib Dem General Election Manifesto of 2010 is the first major step towards tackling fuel poverty and cutting harmful carbon emissions in housing across all sectors by improving energy by any British government and no amount of carping by Labour politicians makes up for their abysmal lack of action in this area. I find it ...
You may never previously have heard of Stephen Sizer, but Malaysian television clearly thinks that he is very important indeed. How many millions of people out there are watching this stuff and thinking that this man represents anyone? It is to be hoped that most people, in all parts of the world, have other things to do with their time than watch Mr Sizer on television. He is is about as unimportant as I am, and that's saying something.
I learnt today that Durham's bid for a share in the Government's Broadband UK funding pot has not been successful, though there are hopes that a re-vamped bid may yet bring in some much needed cash to enable super-fast broadband to be provided for the whole of County Durham. It's essential if the county is to be in the fast lane of economic regeneration as well as for the broader social fabric. Of particular disappointment to me was that after the presentation to Cabinet in March this year, with accompanying Press Release fanfare, the bid simply fell off the council ...
It was a very interesting and enjoyable evening at DCA tonight where the West End Sports and Heritage Association was formally launched. Matthew Miller was elected Chair (I've agreed to be Secretary) and Matt did a great job in chairing the evening and covering the sports aspects of what WESHA hopes to achieve for the West End community. Thanks also go to Angela Mehlert, Chair of Friends of Magdalen Green, who gave an overview of what WESHA wishes to achieve for the green, including restoration of the iconic bandstand - and to Pat Campbell (Chair of Friends of MacRosty Park, ...
Today a resident got in touch with me to raise concerns about speeding in Redlands. A parent of young children, in particular he wanted to raise concerns about drivers failing to slow down at crossings on Addington Road and Erleigh Road. This is a real worry and an issue that has been raised with us before. We have been frustrated with the lack of action taken by the previous Labour administration and hope the new one will move more quickly on this. My consituent raised the issue of cars speeding in the area and how he would like to see speeds limited to 20mph to ensure no ...
An orthopaedic consultant at Guy's made the headlines yesterday by shouting at Nick Clegg, David Cameron and their entourage. Nick Robinson suggested that he was shouting at the group in the background and I have read that he was objecting to members of this group wearing ties or not rolling their sleeves up but I didn't hear those words. Maybe a gesticulation can contain all this meaning, it's just that I didn't see it. Much more important to me is what I do the next time I visit someone in hospital. Am I to take my tie off? Do I ...
Leicester Labour blogger Vijay Singh Riyait reports that all is not sweetness and light amongst the city's Conservatives: at a meeting of the Leicester Tory Party executive this week they tried to pass a motion to expel former tory Aylestone Council candidate, Peter Bedford who dared to challenge the current leadership in its failed electoral campaign. I have learnt from someone present at the meeting that a motion to expel Peter was narrowly defeated by 10-9.
A little thought I've posted over at Northern Ireland for Reform The other day on his blog Ian Parsley looked at what being considered "normal" is for Northern Irish politics, following on from Platform for Change's AGM. One of his observations was: "You cannot force Northern Ireland's voters to adopt the English party system, which is the inherent logic of what most of those advocating "normal politics" are suggesting. Identity plays a part across the board, and we should not be too surprised that it is Northern Ireland identity which determined the Northern Ireland party line-up." Yet Ian sees no ...
Don't forget that Liberal England is now accepting guest posts. So far 15 (count 'em) have appeared: In praise of slow government - Simon BeardChildren and the surveillance state: Will the Coalition keep its word? - Terri DowtyStandards matter in higher education, not just participation rates - AnonymousA Woking class hero is something to be - Lisa HardingThe campaign for a Robin Hood Tax - Ian SullivanThe limits of the Big Society - Martin VeartCan hyperlocal news sites be the future of journalism? - Niall SullivanHow Edward Stourton misunderstood The Orange Book - Simon TitleyWhy I caged my son: The ...
With apologies for the delay here are the oral questions/ answers from the last County Council.
Another reason for visiting Braybrooke was to examine the remains of its castle. Extensive googling suggests that it was no more than a fortified manor house and that many of the earthworks you can see today are the remains of the fishponds that surrounded it. Pastscape gives a concise summary of the evidence. Still, I would like to thank the members of the Braybrooke Field Walking Group (Bovine Section) for their help in demonstrating the lie of the land. Shades of Little Oxendon. The manor house was demolished in the early 17th century and replaced by a farmhouse that lasted ...
Today was the day that we learnt that up to three quarters of a million public sector workers have agreed to take coordinated strike action over government changes to pensions. They really ought to have listened to Vince. Earlier this month, the wise old Business Secretary warned delegates at the GMB conference that whilst the case for changing strike laws was not currently persuasive, "should the position change, and should strikes impose serious damage to our economic and social fabric, the pressure on us to act would ratchet up." Despite the recent results of Mugabesque proportions that were widely interpreted ...
GMB representatives, and other Unions, have got two things wrong in the past several weeks. Firstly they said that Vince Cable was trying to rid Unions from this country because of what he said at their conference. That's wrong – Vince Cable said that pressure would "ratchet up" for reform if major strikes caused significant damage to society or the economy. That is not saying "I will destroy the Unions" – my fear is that some Union bosses are trying to paint this coalition as the same as Thatcher's government to pull in sympathy from the public. Secondly, on the ...
TweetOn Saturday I shall be attending the Social Liberal Forum event: Liberalism, Equality and the State. I was contacted a week or so ago by one of the organisers asking if I'd like to interview and blog with a senior visitor to the forum. I was lucky enough to get Vince Cable. So the Question Is what question would you ask him? I need a few and therefore am taking suggestions! What would you ask Vince? My first suggestions are: 1) After the farce that was tuition fees, do you think it is conceivable for Liberal Democrats to go into ...
"If elected officials resort to using superinjunctions - how can the public, who elect them, actually know whether it is a legitimate move to protect family privacy or something more sinister to hide the sort of activities that would make the the MP or candidate unsuitable for public office?" Living on Words Alone considers the issues raised by the news that Zac Goldsmith was granted a super injunction to prevent his private life being discussed before the last election. Yellow Tinted Spectacles visits Cowley Street. When your beliefs are challenged with facts, you alter your opinions and incorporate the new ...
The Folkestone Labour party asks "Do charities cause poverty and unemployment?". Before we jerk those knees (but do keep them on standby) there is a real issue at the centre of the argument: Folkestone's empty shops and the competition our large number of charity shops present to local businesses. Both are serious matters of concern to every resident. The problem: the charity shops don't need to pay, and I quote, "Taxes, Insurance, Wage Costs, interest rates and Payroll Tax." which (as well as not necessarily needing to pay even for the goods they sell) makes them formidable competition to small ...
Over the coming months you'll probably see solar panels spring up on the roofs of properties across Stockport. We're using prudential borrowing to install over nine millions pounds worth of solar panels on Stockport Council buildings and on Stockport Homes properties. The panels are expected to last for 25 years, and they'll have paid for themselves after ten. That means lower electricity bills for Stockport Homes tenants and the Council – it's a good deal. We borrow £9.5 million, and estimates are that the solar panels will generate £930,000 a year in revenue. The Council estimates that Stockport Homes tenants ...
So tonight after a particularly crappy day at work (long story) I was in need of cheering up and noticed the #askEDM hash tag on twitter. Some of the questions were hilarious and I was soon chuckling out loud on the ...
Liberal Democrat justice spokesperson Alison McInnes has warned of the dangers of rushing to pass Alex Salmond's anti-sectarianism bill without giving proper time for scrutiny. The SNP Government wants it to become law by the time the football season starts at the end of July. The parliamentary recess takes place from the beginning of July until the beginning of September. You do the maths. I have been concerned about this legislation, because it has knee jerk reaction written all over it. We need to be sure that the measures contained within the legislation are liberal, fair and necessary. It's very ...
This morning saw the launch of the Mike Tuffrey for London Mayor campaign. A large number of Lib Dem PPCs, councillors, local party chairs and key activists were present to hear an introduction to Mike's detailed and well thought out plan for the London Mayoralty. [IMG: Mike Tuffrey and Richard Davis] Mike Tuffrey and Richard Davis outside City Hall following the Mike Tuffrey for Mayor Launch The key message that came out are the plans for a massive home-building programme for 250,000 Londoners. Mike said, "It's time for serious solutions to the big challenges we face in London to remain ...
Back in the old year, I blogged about a real Dick Whittington style story as our family's Shire Horse, Dyfed Celt embarked on a new life in London with the Queen's Household Cavalry. I blogged then of Celt's debut in the Household Cavalry during the Emir of Qatar's State Visit at Windsor Castle. Now, aged only 6 years old and less than 3 years after we sold him, he was the pride of west Wales as he took centre stage at Horseguards Parade during the annual Trooping of the Colour parade to celebrate the Queen's Official Birthday last Saturday. My ...
The Government has announced significant changes to its Health Bill to address concerns raised by the public, medical professionals and the Liberal Democrats. Interestingly the benefit of party democracy is stamped all over the Liberal Democrat influence in these changes. The Liberal Democrats are the one major party left with truly democratic decision taking at party conferences and while health professionals had been raising concerns about the original proposals for some time, the issue jumped up the Westminster agenda after the Lib Dems Spring Conference in March of this year, when a resolution was passed calling for changes, very similar ...
A North West England Euro-MP is insisting that all use of animals for testing cosmetic products must end within two years. EU legislation to ban animal testing was approved in 2003. It set deadlines for the phasing out of the practice. Most substances used in cosmetic products like ... Continue reading →
UK unemployment falling at fastest pace in a decade • Unemployment rate down to 7.7% • But number of people claiming jobless benefits rises • Wage growth up just 1.8% in a year • Public sector sheds 24k jobs, private sector gains 104k jobs The UK's unemployment rate has fallen at the fastest rate in 10 years. The Independent: "Government hopes that private firms will create jobs as posts are cut in the public sector were given a boost with news that employment in the private sector increased by 104,000 in the first three months of the year to 23 ...
TweetThe NHS, Wheelie Bins, Forests where will the U-turns end? Or so at least at the extreme flanks on the right, and all of the left are spinning it just so. But is a government who changes its mind really such a bad thing. In my opinion, no. For anyone who thinks that this government is one of u-turns and that is a bad thing, i want to remind you of a quote, it belongs to a former Prime Minister. Tony Blair once said "This government has no reverse gear", and if anyone thinks that the Blair government was better ...
[IMG: Rick Santorum] [IMG: Creative Commons License] photo credit: Gage Skidmore He'd be one for "meat lovers" according to Huffpo, who speculate "If the GOP Primary Candidates were Pizzas". "Rick Santorum is covered in that good ol' red meat for the social conservative base" they explain. Earlier this week. Huffpo featured some interesting debate tweets on the Pennsylvanian Senator, like: "Rick Santorum is blinking more than Nancy Pelosi". @JC_Christian tweeted: "Santorum looked whipped from the first moment. I think we've gotten inside his head." Aside from a lacklustre debate performance, Mr Santorum, unfortunately, has a "Google problem".
Full Fact have done a typically thorough analysis of the issue raised by Ed Miliband at Prime Minister's Questions today (whether some cancer patients will lose money because of the government's welfare reform plans). You can read it here. And ... Continue reading →
Note from the county council We have been advised that Veolia water are attending to a major water main burst at the Alma Road / Beaconsfield Road, 4 way junction in St Albans City Centre. Early indications are that there may be substantial consequential damage to the road surface here. This will be surveyed and extents of reinstatement agreed with Veolia once the leak has been repaired. A present there is no clear timescale for the repair. These emergency works are complicated by planned gas works at A1081 London Road / A5183 Holywell Hill 4 way junction that are scheduled ...
The Wallington Day Fair will take place on Saturday 25th June 10am to 3pm in the Wallington Library Gardens. This annual event, now in its third year, was established by the late Iris Tomlin and the Friends of Wallington Library to celebrate Wallington. The Fair will be opened by the Mayor and Mayoress together with the ...
Cross-posted from Liberal Democrat Voice Someone must have told Ed Miliband that he shouldn't flit around, butterfly-like, between subjects at Prime Minister's Questions. He did that last week and got a caning for it. So this week he was doggedly persistent - monomaniac even - on just one subject. Indeed, just one question. He repeated the same words over and over and over and over again. The impression was that he had gone from the sublime to the ridiculous, but it worked and he ostensibly wrong-footed David Cameron. Ed Miliband said that the government's welfare reform plans would make 7,000 ...
At today's Cabinet meeting the Leader talked about the cabinet changes and outlined the role of the cabinet support members. He mentioned the continuing lack of a support member for education and said that the Independent Group would be meeting in the afternoon to make a nomination. I understand from sources in the Indie group that they have once again refused to do so, saying that they still need to understand more about the role. As such, despite the Leader saying that this role was absolutely vital and should be paid (we defeated that proposal last month), there is still ...
Press reports have stated that the Chancellor, Rt Hon George Osborne MP, is to use his Mansion House speech this evening to announce the sale of Northern Rock rather than convert it in to a mutual institution. Speaking ahead of the Chancellor's speech, Peter Hunt, Mutuo Chief Executive said: "If the Chancellor announces his intention to sell Northern Rock this evening before properly examining all options for a mutual, then this will be disappointing news. The Coalition has stated its commitment to foster diversity in financial services and promote mutuals. Clearly, Northern Rock provides an excellent opportunity to take this ...
PMQs is normally the perfect occasion to show British politics at its worse, but today the barrel was truly scraped. Ed Miliband reasonably decided to use his questions to highlight the Welfare Reform Bill that will be voted on in Parliament tonight. In particular he highlighted what he claimed was a £94 a week loss in benefits ...
Lib Dem blogger Matthew Gibson has blogged Nick Clegg's achievements as DPM over the past year, as viewed by the mainstream media. Matthew's been monitoring the papers for months, noting all the positive stories about the Deputy PM and Lib Dem leader. He splits these up by the common themes that have emerged: leadership, competence, being principled and standing his ground. Here's a taster: Competence The Independent praise Nick Clegg's simple and direct language in his speech at Conference concluding 'Clegg knows what he is doing - quite unusual for a leader of a party' (see here). The Daily Telegraph ...
I swear there is one like this on the A303. I can only suppose it's a public sector job creation scheme.
For those of you who don't know, bourach is a lovely Scots word meaning a right old mess or confusion. I do like it as a word, but at the moment it seems particularly appropriate to use it to describe the muddled priorities at the top of the Scottish Government where justice is concerned. I have already written a furious post today about the failures of the Scottish Government to even provide decent access to toilets, for goodness sake, amongst many other basics, to prisoners at our only women's prison, Cornton Vale. You would think being found wanting so severely ...
Preamble John, by the grace of God, king of England, lord of Ireland, duke of Normandy and Aquitaine, and count of Anjou, to the archbishop, bishops, abbots, earls, barons, justiciaries, foresters, sheriffs, stewards, servants, and to all his bailiffs and ... Continue reading →
I've always wanted to hear Don McLean sing "American Pie" live. In the last few months, I have become more and more obsessed with the song. So, I looked to see if the great man was visiting our shores anytime soon. As it happened, he was, and indeed, is. So I booked up months in advance and tonight, God willing, I will be witnessing the great man sing his many wonderful songs and his particularly wonderful song "American Pie" at Hampton Court Palace Festival. It seems like a small thing, but I am rather excited.
Someone must have told Ed Miliband that he shouldn't flit around, butterfly-like, between subjects at Prime Minister's Questions. He did that last week and got a caning for it. So this week he was doggedly persistent - monomaniac even – on just one subject. Indeed, just one question. He repeated the same words over and over and over and over again. The impression was that he had gone from the sublime to the ridiculous, but it worked and he ostensibly wrong-footed David Cameron. Ed Miliband said that the government's welfare reform plans would make 7,000 cancer sufferers worse off by ...
Just when Ed Miliband thought that he could move on from his recent internal party problems, Labour's most successful leader wades in with some good advice. Today's Sun contains an interview with Tony Blair that will make very uncomfortable reading for the current leader of the opposition: Mr Blair said embattled Mr Miliband would be WRONG to pull back from his own forward-looking philosophy, WRONG to shift from the centre ground of politics and is WRONG to declare the days of New Labour were over. And in another move that will infuriate the rookie Labour leader's inner team, Mr Blair ...
We risk losing our battle against climate change unless we make the built environment more sustainable. That was the message I gave the audience at a Greening our Homes seminar arranged by the Policy Exchange Think Tank yesterday. It's a stark message, but is backed up by the facts. Around half of all the carbon emissions the UK produces each year come from buildings, with our homes contributing 27% on their own. By contrast, only 15% come from our cars, so we could reduce our carbon emissions by a greater amount with a two-thirds cut in emissions from the residential ...
No, by 'religious slaughter' I don't mean the Thirty Years War, I mean the kosher/halal slaughter of animals for meat. Sarah Ludford, Liberal Democrat MEP for London and a Vice-President of Lib Dem Friends of Israel, has an excellent letter in today's Financial Times opposing the proposed Dutch ban on the slaughter of animals without pre-stunning, which is effectively a ban on the production of kosher/halal meat in the Netherlands. Sarah Ludford's letter also re-iterates her strong opposition to the singling out of kosher/halal meat for special labelling. I blogged previously about a European Parliament committee's regrettable vote to impose ...
[IMG: 4066e95f-e2c6-4101-8 (1)] One of my readers pointed out this gem, a letter penned by Tory County Councillor Jenny Whittle (referring to the failure in child care) in this weeks "Kent on Sunday" clearly stating the flippin obvious "May I, in the strongest terms refute the suggestion that social workers are somehow taking the blame for the failings identified in last November's Ofsted inspection" of course you can, nobody in their right mind is going to criticise you for that or blame frontline staff. Still here is where some of us at least would start to separate their agreement with ...
Following on from my recent post on how the Office for National Statistics "corrects" peoples gender and marital status in the Census, I asked them how often this had happened in the most recent three censuses. They don't know. I'm finding it a little strange that the ONS would have their computers correct data in this way and not track how often it is occurring. The ONS previously claimed that "...the majority of respondents recording themselves as being in a polygamous relationship in a UK census do so erroneously, for example, ticking the wrong box for one household member on ...
Camden's Labour Cabinet met last week and rubberstamped the libraries report - plan A. This, thankfully does not involve West Hampstead Library (which was only ever under real threat under the "Doomsday option" involving closure of the majority of our libraries). But 3 of Camden's most loved libraries all with flourishing Friends Groups (Belsize, Hampstead and Chalk Farm) are to be handed over to the community to run if they can and removed from the "public" library service by 2013. There was much objection from library users to this scheme and it will run and run. Meanwhile the rest of ...
When searching online you have to guess how a website which might have what you are seeking has chosen to describe its wares. For example, when you go shopping do you: 1. Buy an item, 2. Purchase it, 3. Accept the valuation which they have placed on the item, or 4. Acquire it for a financial consideration? OK, maybe the last one there is rather more formal than most websites are likely to use, but you get the point. English, because it is such a bastardised language, taking words via French and via German roots (and routes,) has a plethora ...
Following the success of the Social Liberal Forum and other Liberal Democrats in pressuring the government to significantly improve its health bill, the Today Programme will include a feature on Thursday 16 June on other areas in which Lib Dems ... Continue reading →
Hardly time to update this blog - all sorts of things going on! The Jester Festival on Fortune Green is taking place on July2/3 this year - please look at our new website: http://www.jesterfestival.co.uk/ Fun for all the family! The Lib Dem/Spotlight stall will as usual be selling home made jams/chutneys /cakes and biscuits. We welcome donations!! Meanwhile on Monday July 4th, WHAT will be holding its annual Festival meeting - this time on the NHS at which West Hampstead Lib Dem Cllr John Bryant(Chair of Camden's Joint Health Scrutiny Committee) will be one of the speakers. This is at ...
As a Liberal Democrat, you might expect me to be ecstatic following the announced changes to the Health Bill. Well, I'm certainly pleased that the worst elements of the Tory plans have been either scrapped or significantly diluted, but I'm not willing to get too carried away. While the new draft Health Bill is an enormous improvement on what was previously being proposed, I still have some concerns about what it will mean in practice. I also see little reason for elation or triumphalism from our MPs or our leadership (who allowed the Bill through its first two readings without ...
[IMG: Floella Benjamin] Some forgotten figures of Liberal history may deserve their obscurity, but most remain an unmined source of reference, quotation and inspiration for the contemporary Liberal Democrat - especially now, when the party is participating in national government for the first time in more than a generation. On Monday 20th June, for this year's Liberal Democrat History Group summer meeting, two senior party figures and the biographer of Richard Wainwright will join myself in presenting our own forgotten heroes from the twilight of history and talk about how our champions' public lives can influence today's Liberal Democrats. The ...
Just a quick thank you to all the people who came up and spoke to us at the King's Hedges and Arbury Liberal Democrats stall at this years Arbury Carnival. It was a fantastic day and the weather, when you consider the Friday and Sunday, was just brilliant. If you came along I hope you enjoyed it, and remember to put the 9th June 2012 in your diary for next years' Carnival! The Carnival organisers have a short survey on their website if you have time to offer feedback to help make next years (35th Anniversary!) event even better.
Last week I commented on Rowan William's distorted view of the Constitution, this week I find the the learned Philip Goldenberg has made the same point in a letter to Independent today. It is good to have the blog's interpretation confirmed! I have no problem with the Archbishop of Canterbury saying what he did, and indeed, as a Liberal Democrat, I have some sympathy with his critique of the way in which the Health and Education Secretaries have launched policy initiatives significantly beyond the Coalition Agreement. But I do have a problem with some of your correspondents who have ...
Last year, Ros Scott, Nick Clegg and the Federal Executive (FE) asked me to conduct a review of issues relating to the role of Parliamentary candidates. Key to this review was how the Party will increase the diversity of its candidates standing in the 2015 General Election, and getting them elected. The first point to make is that we made some real steps forward in selecting more women and BAME candidates in the last electoral cycle despite the disappointing results – the number of our seats went backwards, so making any progress in terms of representation was very difficult. The ...
I recently mentioned the forthcoming Blackness Fire Station Open Day on Saturday 2nd July. You can now download a poster about the day by clicking on the headline above or by going to http://tinyurl.com/fireopenday.
My Launceston colleague Adam Paynter has suggested we have a caption competition for the photo above. After all the concern about money spent by the Council using payment cards, Council Leader Alec Robertson wanted to show that the fish tank was in use in a children's centre (in Porthleven). All entries welcome. Tweet
I read with some interest the latest missive from Liberal Vision, another condemnation of the works, culture and morals of the Liberal Democrats, and find myself asking the question, "If you dislike us, and most of what we stand for, why do you bother?". In posting after posting, Liberal Vision's contributors criticise our sense of compassion, our internal structures, our leading personalities, with nary a positive word. Is there nothing about the Liberal Democrats that is pleasing to their rather jaundiced eye? That said, I'm not one of those that suggests that, as an appalling group of neo-liberals with no ...
Frontios is fairly standard stuff, with four memorable but mild demerits: 1) Norna's very Eighties haircut; 2) the apparent destruction of the Tardis at the end of episode 1, which we know can't be permanent when there are a bunch more stories to go this season; 3) Turlough's race memories, which are a well-intentioned but clumsy attempt to inject background into his character; and 4) the trick played on the Gravis by the Doctor at the end, which was written better by Aesop and the unknown originator of Br'er Rabbit. As it happens I watched this the same week I ...
Apparently the London Olympic Delivery Authority have decided to ban London's black cabs from using over 100km of London's roads. Weirdly they've set pick up and drop off points at Olympic venues but effectively block the cabs from using roads to reach them. All that road space is going to be reserved for a huge fleet of 25,000 chauffeur driven cars for journalists, olympic officials on junkets and the athletes. Apparently non of them could possibly used coaches and all the roads must be express ways for them. The actual real working olympic officials are planned to be housed in ...
i) births and deaths 15 June 1990: death of Leonard Sachs, who played Admiral de Coligny The Massacre (1966) and Borusa in Arc of Infinity (1983). ii) broadcast anniversaries None. This is the first date in the year on which no episode of Doctor Who or its various spin-offs has been premiered.
From Sheena Wellington : Arbroath musician Mark Spalding will return to Dundee's Wighton Centre on Saturday 18th June. The morning Cappuccino Concert, hosted by the Friends of Wighton, starts at 10.30am with coffee and newspapers, and the music begins at 11am. Admission is £5. Mark will perform a solo recital on harpsichord and piano, which will include historical music by William Kinloch, as well as more contemporary compositions for piano by Ronald Stevenson and Morris Pert. The Wighton Centre, upstairs in Dundee's Wellgate library, is a beautiful performance and study space, built to house the Wighton Collection, an internationally important ...
As reported in yesterday's Courier, there is a proposal by the City Council to stop using Royal Mail to handle its second-class mail from 1st July and to use TNT Post, the largest private postal sector operator in the UK instead. As I indicated to the Courier : "Everyone accepts that, in the current financial climate, the council needs to get best value wherever possible but we must also be confident we're getting a quality service and that correspondence will be delivered promptly. "I suspect the decision is more about securing best value than in response to the problems experienced ...
We are fast approaching the time when all Londoners — like myself — will have to vote for a new mayor. So far we have had Ken and Boris in the post. You'll note I did not include their family names, indeed very rarely to the media find it necessary to to do so either, their personal names being totally sufficient for everyone in London (and many further afield) to know who is being referred to. The LibDem candidate, generally, has not had this level of name recognition in the past. Vote for Susan! required the seven million or so ...
This was my first ever online article, which I wrote for ConservativeHome. I articulated an argument against withdrawing from Iraq. I'm still very pleased with it. It was an interesting use of the American War of Independence, to justify and ... Continue reading →
Following the fall of a significant amount of masonry from the tenement building at Clancy's Bar in Perth Road next to Westfield Avenue in the early hours of yesterday, I wrote yesterday to the City Council's Director of City Development regarding the matter as follows : "Subject: Tenement masonry fall - block at Clancy's Bar Perth Road I have already received concerns about the masonry that fell here earlier today. Thankfully it happened in the middle of the night but had it happened with pedestrians walking by, there could have been serious injury. I appreciate these sort of properties are ...
I think the way in which the NHS reforms have been produced is a good example of how government should work. I was always concerned that we should keep the NHS as an essentially co-operative organism with European competition law being kept out.What has happened through a process of consultation is that a set of proposals for reform that deal with most of the serious criticisms have been
Almost exactly two years ago, the Scottish Liberal Democrats highlighted the increase in the number of women self harming in prison. This came at around the same time as a damning inspection report on Scotland's only women's prison. You would think, then, that, the SNP Government would have sorted things in time for the follow-up inspection which took place in February this year. Sadly, and to my absolute fury, the inspection report released yesterday shows that things have not improved and have in some areas got worse over the last two years. Conventional wisdom dictates that where problems have been ...
Before his expected speech on the banking sector tonight, Chancellor George Osborne has received a niec boost. Figures from the Office of National Statistics for February to April 2011 show that: The employment rate was 70.6 per cent and there were 29.24 million employed people. The unemployment rate was 7.7 per cent and there were ...
This week the £26,000 absolute cap on benefits is back in the news. To many people £26,000 sounds like a lot of money. It is, after all, the average wage. The idea that anyone out of work should get more than the average family appears offensive. That is why this policy plays so well with the public - and make no mistake, it does. But the claim, repeated by the Department for Work and Pensions, that this policy is needed so that people on benefits do not get more than those on average earnings is a lie. People on average ...
Thanks to Richard Morris for pointing this out.A new report shows the effects of inflation hit poor people hardest. The Institute for Fiscal Studies found that the poorest had seen inflation of 4.3% between 2008-10, compared to 2.7% for the rich. The Director of the IFS Paul Johnson told Today: "The less well off spend more of their money as a proportion of their total budgets on things like food
... and surprise surprise it's super-rich Tory boy Zac Goldsmith - son of forest clearing, asset stripping, super litigious, right wing Euro nutter - Sir Jimmy Goldsmith. Spookily Goldsmith junior shares his late father's predilection for shooting off to the lawyers first and asking questions later. Anyway Goldsmith told yesterday's Radio 4 PM that he had done it after his and former wife's email accounts had been hacked. He said revealing the contents of the e-mails would have been "very uncomfortable" at a time when he was seeking election to Parliament, because of the revelation of "all kinds of tittle-tattle ...
It's taken me a couple of days to become coherent enough to type this up. We saw some features (CHUD being a particularly cheesy highlight) and shorts (Mortified was the best IMHO, but the shorts on Sunday were ALL good, technical issues with one of them notwithstanding) and ate some of [IMG: [personal profile] ] matgb's home made cake and it was all good. And we recorded little bits with both of the makers of short films who had come to the screenings, and they were both very cool. It was fun geeking about The Amicus Hand with Ashley Thorpe ...
Holly on Terry Pratchett and the recent news about him What an amazing, dignified man he is. (tags: pratchett)
On the 5th May 2011 I failed in my attempt to be re-elected to Luton Borough Council after eight years serving as an elected councillor. This article is part of a series of posts where I attempt to process what those eight years have meant for myself by asking the question "what did I achieve?" in that time. Looking back one of the things that I am clear that I have done during my time as a councillor has been to be a champion for the issue of climate change within the authority. Getting the council to take seriously its ...
Wed 15th
09:49
1 Year of Praise for Nick Clegg: His strengths and achievements in 1 year of being Deputy PM
Following on from the post 1 Year of Praise for the Lib Dems: Strengths of the Lib Dems in 1 year of being in Coalition we now look at the strengths of Nick Clegg according to the mainstream media of the past year. Nick Clegg has had the biggest change in perception from the election campaign ...
Wed 15th
08:50
This fact should make Gordon Brown, Alastair Darling and Ed Balls hang their heads in shame.
I saw this story on @politicshome yesterday. Hats off to them for picking it up. The mainstream press has concentrated on the story that inflation has stayed level this month, albeit at an eye watering 4.5%. But the IFS has been analysing the data over a rather longer period - the last 10 years - and discovered that the rate of inflation for the poor has far outstripped that for the rich. For example, they have discovered that between 2008 and 2010, inflation for the poor grew at an average rate of 4.3%, but for the rich it ran at ...
There is little doubt in my view that if I were to choose the best bits of the BBC their historical documentaries would be up there as some of the most intriquing and interesting television on offer. In this vein their website does not disappoint either as is evidenced by this piece on ten strange ways that Tudors died. There amongst citizens being savaged by bears, accidental shootings, falling into a moat whilst baking bread, drowning in a cesspit, suffering a fatal maypole injury and being gored by a mad cow is this little gem: How do you shoot yourself ...
As a responsible local company Tesco is aware that sometimes it's trollies don't stay where they are intended to. If you see a trolly that has found it's way into a bush, copse of trees, or ditch somewhere, then Tesco offer a free service to pick it up and return it to the store. You have three options; 0808 1359054 (Tesco trolly pickup),Send an SMS to store2065Or email 9054@tescocomment.com You'll need to give the village and location of trolly. Let one of us know if the trolly doesn't vanish within a couple of days and we'll chase it up.
Here's the paperwork from the recent Italian referendum on nuclear power. Concise questions don't seem to be their style... [IMG: Italian nuclear referendum ballot paper]
I note once again, I am receiving many hits for the popular Margate Big Event, and this year it moves into the middle of Margate, which hopefully will produce much benefit to all concerned. Central to this weekend's Big Event naturally is the air display which this year includes the Battle of Britain Memorial flight, the Red Arrows, and a real treat for anoraks the Vulcan Bomber, not having seen one, since I think the last Manston Airshow, this is a fantastic opportunity to experience a piece of cold war history not just visually but if the thing is allowed ...
The Daily Telegraph had a rather forthright leading article yesterday entitled "Political failure has scuppered NHS reform". In it they took both David Cameron and Nick Clegg to task for having given in to pressure on the NHS reforms and regretted how in their view the essence of the original bill now "lies in ruins". But the bit that leapt out at me was the section where they specifically criticise the Lib Dem leader: Mr Clegg has pulled the plug on a set of proposals he was happy to go along with until his activists told him otherwise. That was ...
When I was home a couple of weeks ago, I noticed an old cassette (younger readers should click here for further information) of Roy Orbison which had belonged to my Grandfather. Having decided that he should feature on this blog, I can think of no better choice for "O" than The Big O himself. I've resisted the temptation to go with Pretty Woman (too obvious) and after much deliberation have decided to feature You Got It: And here's a version of Crying he did with k.d. lang: Andrew
Quite a short book, written in 1890 by a young Norwegian writer who went on to won the Nobel Prize (and in his old age became a Fascist). It seemed to me to fit fairly comfortably between Dostoyevsky and Joyce, with the former's existential angst and the latter's intimate but also intensely geographical observation of humanity. Hamsun's hero is prettty deranged but very convincing in his derangement. My edition also features a 20-page essay by translator Sverre Lyngstad explaining why an earlier translation, by Robert Bly, is terrible.
Interesting character exploration of a woman imprisoned for murder in mid-19th century Canada, and her encounter with an early psychiatrist who tries to get to the truth of the crime; yet in a sense he is also imprisoned, by the sexual mores of free society. Grace knows herself to be an unreliable narrator, and part of the attraction of the book is the way she works through it. Atwood has gone to a great deal of trouble to reconstruct Canada in 1843, when the murders took place, and 1859, when the doctor tries to treat Grace. I was perhaps unreasonably ...
Having polished off the Hugos a couple of months ago, I'm getting started on those Nebula winners I have not previously written up online. Man Plus is mostly a horror story about a man who is turned into a cyborg in order to explore Mars, but Pohl overlays it with a couple of other themes. First, he has a near-future projection of the political paranoia of the 1960s and 70s at both US and international level, a very cynical portrayal of how things work at the top which is I guess reflective of the post-Watergate era. Second, he has the ...
This New Adventure takes the Doctor, Ace and Benny back and forth in time to crucial points like the murder of John Lennon and the sinking of the Titanic, on a trail originating in Mexico in the fifteenth and also twentieth centuries. There are consciousness-altering drugs and prose which reminded me of Ian McDonald, and a satisfying resolution to the pursuit of a mostly non-corporeal baddie. Interesting to read it while in the middle of listening to the latest Big Finish audios with the Seventh Doctor, Ace and their new team-mate.
