Letter of July 25 from Dr P, Osteoporosis Clinic at Dulwich Hospital, to my GP: I reviewed this gentleman in my clinic today as a follow up to his review last year. He attends the Osteoporosis Clinic on an annual basis for treatment with intravenous zolendronic acid. Lord Avebury attended today and appeared to be well. I understand that he is currently under investigation by the haematologists, possibly for myeloproliferative disorder or lymphomatous infiltration of his bone marrow. He otherwise tells me that he has remained very well and has sustained no further falls or fractures. He remains independently mobile ...
I was idly wading through Digital Spy this evening when I saw a tweet saying that Jenson Button had been in a serious accident and to pray for him. I was confused. A quick check on his official website though and it seems as though the story was true. Jenson Button's Official Site 23:21 I tweeted to say the story was on his official website so that it was seemingly true. You generally pretty much believe what is written on an official website although the fact that he was in a quote 'critical' condition but might still race tomorrow seemed ...
Paul Staines, AKA Guido Fawkes, has started a campaign to bring back capital punishment for "the murder of children and police officers when killed in the line of duty". Arguments about the death penalty itself aside, I am really struggling ... Continue reading →
The New Statesman has fallen over itself to come to the rescue of Maurice Glasman after his faux pas in calling for a total ban on immigration. There was a sympathetic editorial last week and an article by the great man this week. All of which is fine - Glasman has interesting things to say and the Blue Labour concept is a sign of how all parties these days are to some extent embracing community politics. Yet it is hard to imagine that if any Conservative or (God forbid) Lib Dem figure had made similar comments, the Staggers would have ...
CHYPPS stands for Children's and Young People's Participation Service. They run play and youth activities throughout the year, including SummerDaze, a programme of things to do for children in different parts of Cambridge throughout the school holidays. Anyone can go. The nearest places to find CHYPPS round here are: Cherry Hinton Hall, Coleridge Recreation Ground Nightingale Recreation Ground Gunhild Close Recreation Ground. There's loads of activities to choose from, but some of the highlights are a carnival, a Mad Hatters' Tea Party, an alien space invasion, and visits from the Archaeology & Anthropology Museum and Botanic Garden.
Pretty simple title this time: Friday. If I'm honest, I was pretty glad it was Friday. I didn't really get through quite as much work as usual, but I aim to finish drafting all the letters of the organised folders for the end of Monday. I am pretty happy that I am staying in Portcullis House for a ...
Sat 30th
22:46
Obscure moments in Liberal history: How Lembit Opik deprived Dan Falchikov of a seat on the NUS nati...
I see that Dan Falchikov has a reservation or two about Lembit Opik's campaign to become Lib Dem candidate for Mayor of London. What I suspect even Dan doesn't remember is that long ago Lembit effectively denied him a place on the prestigious and exalted National Executive of the National Union of Students. As a student in the 1980s I developed the eccentric habit of standing for election for the Leicester University delegation to the NUS conference. A couple of times I even got elected, finding myself the lone Liberal among leftists of various stripes. This was also pretty much ...
Nigel Short standing and laughing, C.J. de Moi (you know, C.J. off Eggheads, with his back to the camera), Richard Pert sitting and his twin Nicholas obscured. It's almost like being there, isn't it? I had though of going down to London today to see Bobby Fischer Against the World, but as I was in that frame of mind I thought I would let the film wait and go to Sheffield to watch the British Chess Championships instead. They are being held at the Ponds Forge leisure centre in the centre of the city. The complex also has an Olympic-standard ...
I have beenincredibly impressed with the Conservative MP Louise Mench these past few weeks and her handling of the hacking scandal. She has been very meticulous with her questioning and has acquitted herself well garnering praise from all sides. Its sad ...
The Chelsea assistant manager on the club's great hope Josh McEachran:In Italy we would feed him pasta to build him up but, as he's still growing, he'll get stronger.
It just dawned on me whilst dossing in my bedroom eating Flake ice cream and watching Dante's Peak (I'm a sucker for a disaster movie) that I hadn't listed the last two episodes of the SocialBookers podcast that I do ...
TweetEnjoy Episode 3
Today the spectre of Capital punishment has again reared its head to public debate as Guido Fawkes submitted an e-petition for its return. Ultimately it is a moot point as the UK has signed up with other European governments to Human right protocols that ban the state execution of any citizen no matter how the heinous the crime. However the debate is one that should be had from time to time if only to remind us how we came to where we are. So why is capital punishment a bad thing? Aren't our prisons overflowing? There are no active deterrents ...
An application's come in to the City Council for an off licence at 180/184 Garston Old Road. That's the building on the corner with Stormont. Actually if you live near there you may have noticed the blue sign on the wall with some of the details. Anyway, people who want to comment have until 14th August. The application is for off sales from 7 am to 10 pm Monday to Sunday. Licensing is a legal process so decisions have to be made on licensing grounds. If you want to comment on this, and have never done a licensing comment before, ...
There's a Fun Day at Garston Park this Tuesday (2nd). Its from 12 till 4 and the organisers say there are plenty of activities for both children and adults. Fingers crossed for sunshine!
Liverpool City Council is reviewing the polling stations it uses for elections. Councils are supposed to do this on a regular basis and it's a good chance to check whether there is feedback on accessibility etc. This May just gone we had some changes to the polling stations in Cressington. They didn't move but some of the people who usually went to one, went to another instead. This was because in the past far too many people had to go to the Guide Hut on Ambergate Road (in 2010 there were people who couldn't get in to vote and it ...
The Hampden Estate will be having a family fun day on Wednesday 10th August, 12 – 4. Looks like being a great day, with a spud and spoon race, the army will be there (and have promised a big gun) and loads of other attractions. All welcome.
A friend pointed a story out to me on the BBC news website that I had missed. It appears Royal Mail wish to change the rules to allow them to leave a lot of mail at your neighbours if they are unable to deliver it. This story has gone into the wider media now, and seems to be based on a press release from Consumer Focus in response to a press release by Royal Mail. Well hidden the Royal Mail one, being on the Royal Mail Group web site, and not the Royal Mail one itself. The Royal Mail statement ...
[IMG: Eva Castillo] [IMG: Creative Commons License] photo credit: owlpacino Cross-posted from Liberal Democrat Voice You have to hand it to Telegraph journalists. It's approaching August. Stories are thin on the ground. But trees must be killed. So stories must be concocted. And what a concoction this one was!: New parents shun 'Cameron' and 'Nick' for baby names David Cameron may feel he needs his Tuscan holiday at the end of a bruising first year in power. There followed suitable snaps of Cameron and Clegg looking knackered, and this text: After facing battles over spending cuts, a gloomy economy, and ...
Sort of, and oh boy have I had a LOT of comments about it. Its the usual problem of people not getting what you are trying to say on Twitter when you only have 140 characters to get your point ...
The Daily Mail have a go at the BBC at every opportunity. Top Gar is a personal bug bear that they seem to have and any story that shows Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, James May or anything associated with the show in a bad light is game on for a vitriolic piece. Another thing that have banged on about is the cost of Formula One and the fact it's not a proper sport and the way they treated Jonathan Legard was a disgrace (yes I'm looking at you Charles Sale) but now that F1 is on it's way to Sky ...
The New Age http://newagebd.com/newspaper1/national/28087.html CHT Commission asks ECOSOC to adhere to UNPFII report Font size: Staff Correspondent International watchdog Chittagong Hill Tracts Commission on Friday called on the United Nations Economic and Social Council for not responding to the Bangladesh government's objection to the report of the 10th session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and to adhere to the report as it is. The Bangladesh government raised objections to two of the paragraphs in the report which deal with the UN peacekeeping forces and wants them expunged. The commission in a letter to the ECOSOC president, Lazarous ...
I've never been to such an event before so I didn't know what to expect. Regardless, I made it to the Hustings in Kings Cross, the first 'proper' Hustings as I think the Chair described it. Mike Tuffrey gave the first speech. It was fairly standard: he outlined his experience on the GLA and said that if he won the nomination, it would be his 14th election. "My 13th election wasn't unlucky for me, in fact it was my best to date." he said, naming a few impressive percentages the Lib Dems had got in the last London Assembly elections ...
Apologies for the lack of content on here recently. I've been pretty burned out after completing An Incomprehensible Condition, I've had an important deadline for work, and the little writing I've been able to do last week has been put into the Mindless LoEG annocommentations (parts two, three and four of that are forthcoming, and ...
First, they have announced the revocation of a substantial number of arms export licences. Indeed, according to the latest figures, between 27 January and 9 March this year more than 150 previously granted arms export licences were revoked. That serves to highlight the scale of the previous misjudgment. Why, however, are those revocations limited to just four countries—Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Bahrain? Why have there been no revocations of arms exports to Syria, for example? Why, too, have there been no revocations of arms exports to Saudi Arabia, whose British-made armoured personnel carriers have rolled into Bahrain and are therefore ...
Richard Morris's excellent blog has drawn me towards an article written by Mike Tuffrey over on the Lib Dem Voice. The gist of the piece is that the next Mayor of London (for which Mr Tuffrey is hoping to be the Lib Dem candidate) should concentrate on important issues - such as making all of London's buses and taxis electric by 2020. I have to say I completely agree with this suggestion. Is this likely to be the optimal solution for public transport? No - I have never been convinced that electric vehicles will be the most efficient.Are there currently ...
This article — seen via Glyn Moody on G+ — reiterates the point that it is frequently the people who torrent also spend the cash. This week, TorrentFreak reported former Google CIO Douglas C Merrill saying that punishing file-sharers is a bad idea, because they have deep pockets when it comes to legitimate music purchase.During his stint at EMI, Merrill profiled the behavior of LimeWire users and discovered something rather interesting. Those same file-sharing "thieves" were also iTunes' biggest spenders. "That's not theft, that's try-before-you-buy marketing and we weren't even paying for it..." And, of course, back in the days ...
If there is one thing that the Murdoch affair has confirmed it is that politician's lust for power knows no bounds. The acquisition of power has been likened to a heroin rush and judging by the extent that Blair, Brown and Cameron, particularly, have been prepared to jump to Murdoch's commands – we must believe this to be true. Although it is likely that an attempt to clean up politics will take place over the next few years, now that it has been made so clear that a media giant can have such an impact on the government of a ...
More on Merseytravel's 'Gravy Train' On Thursday I reported how the BBC in the North West were starting to take a serious interest in the "Gravy Train" antics of the Labour Chair of the Merseyside Integrated Transport Authority (MITA), Bootle's very own Councillor Mark Dowd. Arif Ansari, the BBC's Political Editor for the North West, reported the latest news on Cllr Dowd's £47,665pa position, which makes him one of the highest paid councillors in the country. However, I now learn that Cllr Dowd received rather more than that (pretty impressive) £47,665. In fact, his pay and expenses for last ...
David Cameron's summer email to members and supporters of the Conservative Party is loooong. At 898 words (excluding salutation and footer) its long copy invites the reader to invest some time. A quick call to action it ain't. Tellingly, long copy is often used by advertisers of high-priced or unsought products, to draw buyers in and make them feel justified and more secure in their eventual purchase. Front-loaded with AV referendum back-patting (in case the reader bounces early), Cameron's email continues with a potted review of the year and a tug on Tory heartstrings. It's all about the key words. ...
One of the arguments that most homophobes give for not having a Pride Festival or even a Parade is "Well you don't see a Straight Pride". Here is Davey Wavey asking those people to think about it and why there isn't. I'll be in Belfast today marching with my fellow Liberal Democrats, as well as the Alliance Party, Greens, SDLP, trade unions, LGBT groups, individuals, other supportive groups. We'll set out from Custom House Square at 2pm. At the City Hall we will parade past the Sinn Féin Lord Mayor, before returning to Custom House Square for the party in ...
You have to hand it to Telegraph journalists. It's approaching August. Stories are thin on the ground. But trees must be killed. So stories must be concocted. And what a concoction this one was!: New parents shun 'Cameron' and 'Nick' for baby names David Cameron may feel he needs his Tuscan holiday at the end of a bruising first year in power. There followed suitable snaps of Cameron and Clegg looking knackered, and this text: After facing battles over spending cuts, a gloomy economy, and the phone hacking scandal, now it seems that even the nation's babies have begun to ...
Back in the days when the internet was less than half its present size, ie the mid-noughties, I did an annual survey linking to online reviews of all the Hugo nominees in the written fiction categories (see my efforts for 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006). It would be very difficult to repeat such an exercise now; a lot of online material is difficult to search, locked behind the walls of Facebook or indeed in podcasts. However, it is still feasible to survey how bloggers have announced their intentions of voting, and therefore I have done so. This is of course ...
Louise Mensch MP sits on the culture, media & sport select committee. This committee's recent role in questioning the Murdoch's and press over the hacking scandal has put her in the firing line for a bit of mud raking. Rather than trying to wiggle or worm her way out of these accusations, she has responded to them bravely, with a flair of flamboyant wit. She admits that yes she has taken drugs, along with the other 27% of the adult population and apologises for her bad dancing. If you want honest politicians like this, then the voting public has to ...
Well it's hard to be happy in a world that's so cruel where the weak just get weaker where the powerful feud where the children go hungry while the soldiers stand by lay down your weapons take hold of your lives and when will we learn that it's hate that breeds hate only love is the cure don't leave it too late get up, and feel it the truth that won't wait if we choose to do nothing then we take all the blame.
It is not the grandest church on the Royal Mile that would be the Catherdral of St. Giles High Kirk, which contains the Thistle Chapel, on up the hill. Nor is it the Kirk associated with Royal occassions; the ruined Holyrood Abbey at the foot of the Mile has seen Royal Weddings including those of James II, III, and IV of Scotland the latter to Margaret Tudor the sister of Henry VIII of England. Nor is the oldest that being St. Margaret's Chapel at the Castle. But the Kirk of the Canongate (pictured) is the parish Kirk not only of ...
The new puffin crossings have a neat feature for anyone with limited eyesight to help cross safely. Most crossings beep when the green man comes on, in addition to the light. Not all though. When you've got two or more crossings next to each other (for example, at a crossroads), the beep could cause more harm than good by confusing someone into thinking a crossing was safe when it wasn't. So, in addition to the light, all puffin crossings have a small dial underneath the unit that rotates when the green man's on – just hold the dial and when ...
The Government has just launched its brand new e-petitions system. You can find it here. The first petitions will be going live next Thursday. Haven't we been here before? Well, it is true that Labour surprised us all by setting up the Number 10 online petitions website some years ago, and that this attracted thousands of petitions. But after the initial enthusiasm there was inevitable disappointment, because, in the vast majority of cases, the only response received by petitioners was a statement from a civil servant. It is true that, in some cases, petitions channelled strong public concern about an ...
Minister of State at the Ministry of Justice, Lord (Tom) McNally has praised the enormously important role of the Norfolk Ecumenical Criminal Justice Forum. Speaking to the Forum at a meeting hosted by the Bishop of Norwich on July 26, Lord McNally said: "A group like yours has an enormously important role; by coming together to share experiences from your "day jobs"; by contributing to thoughtful and informed debate; and by trying to discern the best ways of helping those in your care." Addressing the forum, which brings together a wide range group of people engaged in the criminal justice ...
This is an article that I have submitted to Liberal Democrat Voice. The Government has just launched its brand new e-petitions system. You can find it here: epetitions.direct.gov.uk . The first petitions will be going live next Thursday. Haven't we been here before? Well, it is true that Labour surprised us all by setting up the Number 10 online petitions website some years ago, and that this attracted thousands of petitions. But after the initial enthusiasm there was inevitable disappointment, because, in the vast majority of cases, the only response received by petitioners was a statement from a civil servant. ...
I am sorry that this is rather belated but I suddenly realised the other day that my life was missing something. It's Francis "Fluffy bits" Wilson. I've just realised he isn't on Sky or anywhere doing the weather any more. Sob. Sob. I've watched him since he was a very raw studenty-type doing the weather on Thames at Six with Andrew Gardner. Anyway, to fill the gap somewhat here he is when East Anglia fell on his head and a priceless impression by Rory Bremner:
When the convictions came through in the court trial over the death of Baby Peter in 2009 I had my own small experience of trying to hold the line on a legal order of anonymity against the social media tide. The courts initially ruled that the names of those convicted should be kept secret but there was a vociferous minority online who demanded to know their names and a smaller number who found out their names and spread them. As someone who hadblogged about the case and was moderating comments, trying to comply with with the court ruling required repeated ...
Steve Hilton has attracted flak across the old and new media following the FT's revelations about his suggestions for stimulating economic growth. The proposals that hit the headlines included the abolition of maternity leave, labour market policies that contravened European law and the suspension of all consumer rights. Many have criticised the proposals for a ...
One of the earlier spinoff books from New Who, this pulls together the monsters of the new series and some of the best remembered opponents from Old Who - the Axons, the Zarbi, and many in between including the Rani and Omega, but not the Master specifically, though he is given a sidebar under the Dæmons. It is an interesting example of firmly branding Old Who as part of New Who continuity, and is nicely put together, if rather short.
If this photograph of the waiting room on the disused up platform at Cromford Station looks familiar, that may be because you have seen it on the cover of the Oasis album Some Might Say. And, though its website is a little out of date, it seems that you can take a holiday at Cromford Station Watiting Room too.
Oliver Cromwell is one of the more quotable political figures in history. From his instruction to Sir Peter Lely to "Paint me as I am, warts and all", to his irate dismissal of the rump Parliament: "You have sat here too long for any good you have been doing lately. Depart I say, and let us have done with you. In the name of God, Go!", Cromwell is still widely quoted, even if people may not be conscious of the source. It was this last quote that came into my head as I contemplated the self serving cant put out ...
Figures in a Government consultation paper on the funding of academies have revealed that Michael Gove's policy of getting schools to convert to academies is expected to cost nearly £600 million more than planned over the two year period 2011 - 2013. This confirms what Lib Dem activists have been saying for some time i.e. that the programme for converting schools to academies is costly and unsustainable, as well as being divisive and unfair. When a school decides to leave its Local Authority (LA) and become 'independent' (i.e. dependent on central government!), in addition to its standard funding it gets ...
David Cameron has sent the following email to Tory supporters - so my spies tell me... Not only is he proud of the No campaign he is clearly incredibly defensive about the NOTW hacking scandal. One might think he's a little under pressure for his employment of Andy Coulson and his vast number of smooches with Murdoch. He's also claiming credit for Lib Dem policy on Equitable Life. Dear X, As the summer break approaches, I am writing to thank you for all your support over the past few months, particularly in the run-up to the AV referendum. This victory ...
I'd like to thank my cousin for pointing this link out to me. In a week when first our future Health Minister and then a church leader came up with excuses to avoid engagement with the LGBT community in Belfast, what better way to start Pride Parade Day than this message from Hans Kristensen, leading Pastor of Resolved Church in Sydney. I am sorry that a lot of Christians have not treated you with dignity and respect even though as people you are created in the image of GodI am sorry that a lot of Christians have not listened to ...
Getting things done Residents have recently complained to me about the road condition of Shaftesbury Road between the Rockfield Street and Hyndford Street junctions. I brought this to the attention of the City Council's Road Maintenance Partnership and have now been updated as follows : "An order has been raised for the repair of various potholes on Shaftesbury Road with a timescale for completion of twenty eight days."
There now follows a short series of hits from Elkie Brooks, one of my favourite artists, starting with Elkie on Top of the Pops in 1977 ...
There are times when I wonder why some items are regarded as news and this is one of them. For some reason the Taxpayers Alliance has submitted a Freedom of Information request so as to find out the web browsing habits of employees of the Department of Transport. The DfT spokesman is at pains to stress that personal internet use by staff should be restricted to official breaks. The BBC say that amongst the interests of the civil servants are belly dancing, Doctor Who and the Roman Empire. The BBC website came top (of course), but employees are also spending ...
I've just finished watching 'My favourite joke' on BBC1. There appears to be more episodes to follow - but I doubt they will feature the late great Bill Hicks. So in memory of him (and Amy Winehouse - who I think he would have appreciated) - here is is talking about manufactured pop musicians. Warning - don't watch if you are easily offended.
I've just received a letter from RBS – no, not about my overdraft – and thought I should share it with you. Dear Councillor At NatWest we know there are lots of fantastic groups of local people making a difference in their community. I am sure you can think of some in your ward. This is why I want to appeal to you, to help spread the word about CommunityForce to these local groups. In each of our local markets we will be offering three community projects the chance to win awards of £6,000 each. And it will not be ...
