All next week (Monday 22nd to Thursday 26th August) there will be a festival of youth talent for 12 – 19 year olds in and around Consett with four days of workshops (listed below) followed by a fun family day in Consett Park on August 26th to showcase the talents and just have a good time. All activities have FREE admission. Workshops: all from 11.00 till 3.00 Monday 22nd August to Thursday 25th August Music making and singing @ Dipton Community Centre (musicians can bring their own instruments) Art workshops including mural boards @ Phoenix Centre Moorside School Dance (street ...
I couldn't contribute as much to the latest LoEG annocoms, but I did an almost line-by-line look at Terner's song which works out at about the length of a typical piece here, while Amypoodle and Zom did the hard work. More Monkees tomorrow, and a Doctor Who piece on Saturday. Tagged: memememememe, oh ok then ...
Just a coy thanks [IMG: :)]
In 2008 Margaret Williams, Liz Walke and many thousands of people helped campaign and win the right to keep maternity services at The Conquest Hospital Hastings and the Eastbourne DGH. In Summer 2011 East Sussex Hospitals Trust is looking to review maternity provision even though nothing has changed. Please send your views to maternityreview@esht.nhs.uk before ...
A planning application has come in to change one of the shops on Greenhill Road to a "hot food take away". By the looks of things on the City Council website, letters haven't gone to anyone living nearby yet. However you can see the basic details on the website A bit more information is in the section called related documents. Last time there was a planning application for a takeaway in this area (although not at this particular site) there was quite a lot of worry about litter and traffic. The takeaway got permission but there were some conditions, ...
There are moments when, as an officer of the Party, albeit a Regional one, that even I become irritated by the actions of someone who should know better. And so I dedicate this to someone called X (Ros thinks that she should be allowed anonymity, she's polite and well brought up like that) - I know no more than that about the woman who tried to ring me today. I have decided, as regular readers will recall, not to go to Federal Conference. My heart isn't in it, it's expensive and, well, isn't that enough? Therefore, I haven't sent my ...
"a real circus with clowns and beautiful women, and dangerous beasts" Neil Gaiman, Neverwhere Something struck me about that quote today which reminded me of the way television has become a circus in the UK. Going far beyond the ideal of being "sexed up", viewing figures now seen to be determined upon clowns, beautiful women and dangerous beasts. One could go as far as to refer to it as a carnival. "a frenetic disorganized (and often comic) disturbance suggestive of a large public entertainment" A society enslaved by consumerism requires entertainment that fulfils the same endorphin rushes of a Coliseum ...
Just around the corner from The Bridges pub stands the youth hostel. According to a leaflet I collected there it was built as a school for the children of her employees by Lady Mahlah Addyes Scott, Lady of the Manor of Wentnor and Ratlinghope, in 1866. The leaflet suggests that she wanted to encourage her workers to stay with her rather than "join the drift to the factories of Industrial England". It goes on to say that there turned out not enough children in the area to support a school. This is hardly surprising. Bridges is barely a hamlet and ...
Apologies to you dear reader for the lack of blogging recently. I've been quiet due to a combination of August-itis and man-flu. If you can forgive me, would you care to cast a vote in the annual blog awards run by Total Politics. The voting closes tomorrow at midnight, so you don't have long. You have to vote for at least five blogs or bloggers and I would be most humbled if you would vote for me. After all - I've got to live up to last year's showing (see the glory wall on the right). Tweet
The conference directory, with all the fringe meetings etc in it, doesn't seem to have been published for party conference yet but looking through the list of what's planned by the Social Liberal Forum, or what the Forum is involved in, it looks like there are going to be some great debates. The fringe on phone hacking on the Sunday is not only topical but has some great speakers - Alan Rusbridger of the Guardian and Hugh Grant are just two of them. It's good also to see that Will Hutton is down to speak at another meeting. He was ...
I don't really approve of such beauty contests, but in response to the various pleas (now I know how voters feel when they are knocked up) have given in, logged on and voted. But those folk at Total Politics don't make it easy. For your vote to count you have to name five blogs, then separately name five bloggers, write 'Blank' down the rest of the list, designate the Blank by category (I thought 'Non-Aligned' was best) then name your favourite twitterer or whatever. It took me three goes to cast my vote successfully. If I didn't have better things ...
Great news today that the A level passes for young people at Liverpool schools mean that the City's results are above the national average for the first time. I don't really like league tables, but given they seem to exist everywhere its good to see we are moving up this one!
A group of young people will be getting together next week to work on turning a piece of ground behind Garston Park Church (formerly Island Road Church) into a community garden . They've got assistance from B and Q and have already done some work to prepare the ground. Brendan, a local youth worker on the Grassendale detatched youth project, says that work should be going on from Tuesday to Friday next week (23rd to 26th) from 12 till 5 every day. And if you want to pop along and lend a hand, or show some support, you'd be very ...
Around 40% of Mossbourne's pupils are on free school meals, 30% are on the special needs register, 80% are from ethnic minorities, and 40% are from homes where English is not the first language. - the Guardian Today, every one of the pupils at the school was offered a place at university ~ One pupil even turned down a place at Cambridge! These results from Mossbourne academy are truly inspirational and one look at the article, plus some of the history around the school, quickly gives you an insight ( and a template?) for it's success. I don't believe the ...
Which psychologist has been most widely quoted in the world's newspapers over the past few days? It may well be one Professor Alexander Gordon - "a chartered psychologist and member of the British Psychological Society," as most sources describe him. Which is odd, given that there is no such person. What happened was that someone from the Daily Mail called the Society's press centre (where I happen to work) and asked for the names of psychologists who might comment on a survey they were reporting. This said that men make up their minds about a potential partner much more quickly ...
Oh dear. Much more of this and I'm going to have to stop following @louisemensch on Twitter. It's not good for your blood pressure. Her latest missive - ironically posted on the very medium she is attacking - suggests that the Police should only have the power to close down Social Media 'in times of national emergency' and therefore any comparisons to the Arab Spring were 'hysterics' (I imagine she gets reminded often that David Cameron said social media should be as free to use in Tahir Square as in Trafalgar Square - though not presumably ,in the world of ...
[IMG: Click here to vote in the Total Politics Blog Awards 2011] Was there something you meant to do today? Voting in the Total Politics Blog Awards 2011 closes at midnight tomorrow (Friday). Click on the button to go to the magazine's site and cast your votes. If you did feel moved to cast a vote for Liberal England, I would be very grateful.
Martin Brookes has taken some photographs of boarded up shops in Leicester following last week's riots. Seeing that a pound shop and shoe repair board shop were attacked does not encourage one to seek a sophisticated political explanation of those events.
Well it seems as though the average person pays more per year in coffee than they do it electricity bills. This (to me) quite staggering revelation came out yesterday and there is more detail in this report in the Daily Mail. As a nation we consume 511million cups of coffee a week nationwide. Now my crude maths tells me that adds up to an average of around nine cups each a week but of course not everyone drinks coffee so when you take out the coffee drinkers then that average explodes. People often ask me how I save money and ...
Experiencing many forms of banking in one day: traditional in branch, telephonic, online, and not entirely happy with any of them, Michael comes away with a small profit of £2.10 after a complaint about the address being wrong in correspondence.
As part of London Open House weekend, The Capitol on London Road is arranging tours to see bits of the Art Deco building they don't normally allow the public into on Saturday 17th and Sunday 18th September. If you're interested you need to book a place by phoning 020 8291 8920.
I went to Birmingham last weekend and I saw the scale of damage from the riots there. What I saw was both physical and emotional damage. Some shops were boarded up but they were mainly open. Lots of windows had a spider web of smashed glass covering more than half of the window. It did look eerie but there was a marvellous British spirit of getting on among people. I spoke to some Asian taxi drivers and they tole me how upset they were that they had lost three members of their future generation. The funerals of the 3 Asian ...
"To kill a man in a paroxysm of passion is understandable, but to have him killed by someone else after calm and serious meditation and on the pretext of duty honourably discharged is incomprehensible"Marquis de Sade
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I was horrified to see the BBC report that the Silverwells Hotel in Bothwell has been ordered to pay £29,000 to a former employee they demoted from manager to waitress when she told them she was pregnant. The loss of income led her to reach the decision to terminate the pregnancy as she wasn't sure she'd be able to support the baby. That is a completely unacceptable way to treat anybody and I'm glad that the Tribunal has recognised the harrowing experience this woman has been through. The woman concerned has not been named, but she recounted what happened to ...
TweetLast Friday I started receiving counselling on the NHS for my depression. My local PCT has a service that puts a few counsellors into GP surgeries once a week so that the service is accessible to all. I found out ... Continue reading →
Gobsmacking. It's all good but the fun really starts at around the 2 minute mark Piers is for once, spot on. If she writes these (idiotic) views she should have the courage to defend them. But let's be clear. SHE IS NOT A WITCH. Here's a very good account from the assistant producer who had to walk her from the CNN building...
A tweet crosses my desk from Cllr Kemp, itself a retweet from LGCPlus journalist Ruth Keeling. It contains a link to the Association of Police Authorities – not a body I am overly familiar with, but it has a fairly self-explanatory title. The link is directly to a fairly draw-dropping cross-party letter from chairs of Police Authorities around the country who have a fairly serious beef with the Home Secretary's accuracy in a recent speech. Theresa May appears to have tried to shore up support for the Conservative policy of elected police commissioners by insinuating that in London, taxpayers got ...
Thursday: So... the plot, as they say, thins... At the end of all this, do we actually know any more about what is going on? We kind of knew about PhiCorp before, even if not so blatantly in-your-face, from Jilly Kitsinger's calling card. And we kind of knew the Miracle was turning a bit bad. So all we're left with here is a string to tie it all together. We're playing join the dots this week, as our little band discover their connection to, well, the rest of the plot. The surprising thing about this is how clunky it is. ...
Not only does the Edinburgh Fringe operate in a different time zone from the rest of the country, it also bends spacetime itself. Without the anchors of news, television and office life and with the same shows running daily, it's very easy to lose track of which day it is. And where you are. And who you are. And why. [IMG: Amused Moose flyer] I've had to remind myself what I did yesterday by looking at my calendar. I may have left my brain on the Royal Mile. Right now, it's probably being juggled with an apple and a football ...
The link is in Russian about the imprisonment of Norman Scarth who is actually 85. He has a complex history including a court hearing which found that he used a chainsaw to fight off bailiffs when he was 75. [a court judgment which is disputed see comments] However, that does not justify imprisoning him for 6 months for recording a court hearing (see the link and ask google to translate it if
It's easy to forget this, but our entire political, cultural and social system in the western world is founded on the basis of liberalism. Things like democracy, human rights, freedom of religion, free trade, elections and tolerance of cultural differences don't even feel like liberalism anymore, they've become so deeply embedded in our very way of thinking that they just seem like life. Each of these things, one by one, however, was fought for hard against a tide of conservative (with a lower case C) sentiment. In fact, in the West, we've demonstrated time and time again that once we've ...
Suffolk Trading Standards are warning about companies that are promising to get bank charges back by convincing consumers they are acting on behalf of the Ministry of Justice (MOJ). Some consumers have been told that a cheque will be delivered to them, and upon delivery, they would need to pay a fee to receive the cheque. The MOJ acts as a claims management regulator and does not approve, recommend or endorse businesses that handle claims on behalf of an individual. The MOJ has said its staff never call asking for personal bank details or offer money back on bank charges, ...
Today is a day when there is so much happening that I could frankly blog about lots of things. The tragic news from Israel's border with Egypt underlines the fragility of that region's stability; right on cue, I was really pleased to get an email from Chatham House (the Royal Institute of International Affairs, as was) about their Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Programme, including the Egypt in Transition project, of which a highlight is this paper on securing a democratic process over there - essential reading for anyone interested in a democratic future for Egypt. To anyone interested ...
For 38 years, the Kettner Lunch has been attracting guest speakers from politics, industry and the Arts on an almost monthly basis, originally under the sponsorship of Peter Boizot, founder of Pizza Express and then owner of Kettner's restaurant in Soho. These days, the Club meets in the National Liberal Club in Whitehall Place, Westminster, ...
As I write this column the memories of the Salford and Manchester 'riot' of 9 August 2011 are still all too raw. To watch 1000 of our so-called "neighbours" seemingly enjoy taking part in mindless looting and destruction of people's livelihoods was horrific. The Government, the Police and the Courts have rightly acted swiftly and efficiently to bring to these people to justice. But for me, the riots have raised many more issues. How have we managed to create a society where so many people find it acceptable, even "a laugh" to take part in such behaviour? There was no ...
It's a scary time. No matter how old you may get and no matter how distant the years feel from when it was my turn to face that excruciating wait, the memories remain. It annoys me slightly to see some good people commenting on how they don't care about today's A-Level results. The more the years pile on, the more results days we witness and the more we hear of the 'dumbing down' of our educational standards to ensure that high standards are achieved. Well, let's not forget here that whilst many of us will have seen this day come ...
The forthcoming biography of Nick Clegg by Liberal Democrat councillor Chris Bowers was serialised in last weekend's Mail on Sunday. Here's just a brief extract : For a few terrible weeks, Nick Clegg came face to face with his ultimate nightmare. One after the other, his wife and his little boy had fallen gravely ill — and doctors warned that they might not pull through. It began when his son, Antonio, then aged two, became feverish and listless. When he was admitted to hospital, Clegg insisted on spending every night at his side. According to the doctors, Antonio was suffering ...
Two new planning applications have been submitted for the development of Cheadle's George & Dragon pub by Dorbiere. Both are in the consultation phase, with a target date for the decision of some time in September. Application 47791 and 47767 are for refurbishment and a single storey rear extension to the pub. Whilst we won't comment on the details of the application (they aren't yet online anyway), it's no secret that the Lib Dem team is very keen to see new life breathed into not only the George and Dragon but also Weavers in Cheadle and the Tatton cinema site ...
Yesterday First Minister Alex Salmond opened the long awaited Carnegie School in Dunfermline. The school spent the first 2 years of its life in Inverkeithing Primary School. Way back in the mists of time, it was intended that there should be 3 new primary schools in the Eastern Expansion of Dunfermline. To cut a really long story short, the Labour Council sold off the land for the third school, leaving a big gap in provision for the incoming SNP/Liberal Democrat coalition to deal with. Local parents had to put up with a fair bit of inconvenience, but they have shown ...
The visit was to look at the work that Shepherds Bush do about the none housing agenda - how they add value to the lives of their tenants and the communities that they work in by adding to excellent housing ... Continue reading →
Party conference is a great time to take part in training to help you succeed as a Liberal Democrat campaigner and councillor. We're all learning to operate in the different circumstances of campaigning as a Party that's in Government, so keeping up with new skills and ideas is more important than ever. Training in Birmingham is all free and available to all Party Members. Most of it is just outside the conference "secure area" so you don't event have to be registered for Conference to attend Download and print out ALDC's Conference Planner for our full guide to training and ...
Yours truly has entered the top 200 influential political tweeters on House of Twits. I'm very humbled and grateful; and highly amused by my current position of ranking higher than many leftists, too. Voting is still continuing, so vote here for me (@DanielFurrUK) and (@thatsoph) p.s I was right Mrs.Bercow, my time has now come. ...
There is an obituary at the Good Enough Caring blog by Mark Smith of the writer Richard Webster, about whom I wrote recently. It might seem a little eccentric of me to post twice about a relatively obscure writer whose work is a little removed from the normal subject matter of this blog. But one of Webster's preoccupations was the concept of 'noble cause corruption' - how people can be less than scrupulous methods in promoting a cause that they believe to have an overriding good. It is regular, if intermittent interest of mine, and part of the reason for ...
The weekend took me to Bury St Edmunds where I was surprised and delighted to realise that the Perpendicular Gothic tower of St Edmundsbury Cathedral was completed as recently as 2005. I didn't think they still did that sort of thing, and can imagine voices saying that there were better causes to spend the money on, or that additions and alterations to the cathedral should be in a contemporary rather than traditional style. The architect Stephen Dykes Bower, was a Gothic revivalist and official 'Surveyor of the Fabric' for Westminster Abbey. When he died in 1994 he left a legacy ...
Have the Welsh Tories changed their policy on policing in Wales? I only ask because when Labour were proposing a single police force they were at the forefront of the opposition to the idea arguing that it was inappropriate and costly. Now, a prominent member of the Welsh Conservative Assembly Group is calling for precisely that. Byron Davies, Conservative Assembly Member for South Wales West, has said that savings can be made by having fewer chief constables. He has suggested that by merging forces, the money that is saved could then be spent on employing more frontline officers. In actual ...
The London 2012 bid promised that the games would be the games of the nation and not just the capital. However, despite many sports facilities in Northern Ireland being ready on being built there had been no team commitment to train in Northern Ireland until today. Four teams, all aquatic sports, had commited to train in the Republic of Ireland, despite a new Olympic sized pool being developed here in Bangor due to be opened in Spring next year. The teams are the Hungarian and British water polo teams, US synchronised swimming team and the UK Paralympic swimmers. Yes two ...
I am not sure if Andrew R.T, Davies is going to be an accident-prone leader of the Welsh Conservative Assembly Group or not but this cannot be a good start. This morning's Western Mail reports that he has come under fire after it emerged he claimed expenses for a promotional video about his work as an AM. They say he has received reimbursement of £195 from the Assembly in February for the video, which is still available on his website. At the time it was seen as part of a potential leadership bid by Mr Davies, who resigned as Shadow ...
.....But it would be really helpful if the blog post title hadn't been changed to suit Guido's sensationalist view of the world. The actual post is entitled "I think Chris Huhne has had it now" which is every so slightly different ...
Last week I blogged about the proposal to set up a new Foodbank in Launceston. This week, there have been reports of shortages in stocks held by the various foodbanks across Cornwall because of high demand. I'm very pleased to see the Cornwall Council Cabinet Member Armand Toms has, together with Bishop Tim, written to the bosses of all the main supermarkets asking if they could help out more. It's already the case that some of the biggest supporters of Foodbanks are supermarkets, but at times like these when many families are feeling the pinch and some are falling into ...
There are serious social issues that need to be addressed in the wake of the riots. The problem for politicians faced with situations like those we have seen over the past 10 days is the need to be seen to be doing something positive about it. Talk about long-term problems requiring long terms solutions just doesn't cut it with the voters, even if that is the answer. Yet it is the responsibility of the Mayor to show political leadership, to inform, persuade and facilitate these long terms solutions, even if he has not direct power to do so. Young people ...
I just read over at The Radical Blues a story entitled Justice: Two cases of youthful indiscretion detailing the similarities between an incident involving Nick Clegg and one involving a 17 year-old from Peckham. It is a story that has been told several times in the past few days. I do though dispute what the author is trying to say in his blog though. The differences are not their backgrounds but the way in which society dealt with both crimes at the time. Nick Clegg and his pals did some community service and gave something back and learned their lesson. ...
Young people's attitude towards political and public affairs has recently been less than promising, to say the least. The majority of six-form students do not know how the political system in this country works, and seem to have no willingness to engage and vote for their future. Luckily, not all hope has been lost. A new initiative has been launched which aims to narrow the gap between young people and their involvement in politics. Bite the Ballot is a grassroots campaign created by and for young people with the aim to inspire and encourage others to engage and be part ...
I really don't know how long Chris Huhne can survive for to be honest. He's a nice guy. I met him at the Social Liberal Forum, but I do find myself wondering how much damage he is causing to the ...
Women don't choose science because they want to impress boys? LMAO! From the department of "oh dear, who let the evpsych folks out again". (tags: feminism) Don't let the police off the hook "the secret to making sure British policing remains the best in the world: not praise, but vigilance" - I agree with every word of this article (tags: police) DC comics new 52 commercial. OMG Batwoman. And, you know, other superheores. But BATWOMAN! (tags: comics) Doctor Who series 6: lots of pictures from Let's Kill Hitler Electric jellyfish! (tags: doctorwho) Caron on prison sentences If Caron doesn't get ...
Other bloggers and stats enthusiasts (Mark Pack, sit down, grab a coffee, this means you) may enjoy a look at where my blog traffic comes from. Firstly: referring sites. The top ten reads 1. www.libdemblogs.co.uk 2. www.libdemvoice.org 3. www.google.co.uk 4. carons-musings.blogspot.com 5. twitter.com 6. www.google.com 7. www.facebook.com 8. www.newstatesman.com 9. stephensliberaljournal.blogspot.com 10.libig.co.uk So many special thanks to Caron Lindsay and Stephen Glenn for pushing traffic my way. And I'd advise everyone to post relevant comments and link to your own posts in them on the New Statesman website as it seems to work! Secondly, where do my readers live. No ...
Technological innovation does not just change the new products we can buy, it changes the existing products we have. It is not just the usual cycle of a fast, light, whizzy, long battery-life product seeming less good when the next even faster, even lighter, even whizzier, even longer batter-life model comes out. It is also that existing products get regular updates - software gets new versions, hardware gets new firmware, TVs get new channels, websites get new options and so on. And then there is the matter of accessories - the new memory cards, the new software packages, the new ...
Thu 18th
09:53
Michael Aspel and Richard Baker in a comedy film at the old Alexander Palace BBC studios
This is a real gem on YouTube. It's an old black and white film, made in the early 1960s. Michael Aspel and Richard Baker were both newsreaders on BBC TV, which was then based at Alexandra Palace. This appears to be an internal "funny" film, or perhaps a Christmas "funny" film for broadcast. It's called "Ally Pally Newsreader Wars". It revolves around a running fight over a jar of Bryllcreme and ends with a custard pie landing in the face of the Head of BBC News. It is quite an extraordinary old curiosity.
Thu 18th
09:47
Bill Bratton did not bring crime down in New York: Lib Dems should fight Cameron on the issue
David Cameron has been pushing for Bill Bratton to come and lead the Metropolitan Police believing he will be able to reduce crime and disorders such as the ones we have seen recently as his zero-tolerance policy has been credited with reducing petty and violent crime in the US. I have noticed that some in ...
A quick plug for ourselves: voting closes on Friday in the Total Politics Blog Awards 2011. You can cast your votes here and if you would be so kind as to remember both The Voice and the blogs run by the various contributors to this site, that would be most spiffing. Thank you!
Faulty streetlights can be reported at any time, of course, but as the nights start to draw in we want to make sure our roads are well lit before autumn arrives so please keep a look out if you're out and about after dark. The best way to report a streetlight is to make a note of the number on the column. For example, we've reported light 17 on Silverdale Road and light 10 on Springfield Road today. If you can't see a number on the column (should be a clearly visible black number on a yellow background), then you ...
I described the events last week as a "game changer". I think they are as they highlight the substantial numbers of people who basically don't feel a personal commitment to following the rules of society and are willing to simply fight their own corner. There seems to be a dispute between those who argue that it is a question of poverty and those who argue it is a question of discipline and law
Not just me of course. Every Lib Dem. Both in Richmond and beyond. How so? Well, many of you will know that it has been alleged that Richmond Council - which is controlled by the Conservatives - have been holding a young person on remand in... A Premier Inn. Mr Straw was invited on to Newsnight to share his thoughts on this 'situation'. And when asked who did he target for blame, which individual did he pick out? Somebody on the Tory run Council? The Home Secretary (a Conservative)? The Justice Secretary (Conservative)? The Conservative MP for Richmond Park, Zac ...
A few days ago I was down in London for a social media training day on the Robin Hood Tax, which I have never got around to writing about. It took place near King's Cross and I had to walk past the front of the station to get there. Among the busy crowds I saw a mother and father with two small children. The children each had a scooter and a safety helmet. I took it as a perfect picture of modern parenting. On the one hand, the parents do not feel confident enough to say no to their children. ...
Figures uncovered from the County Council show that the care budget for people with Learning Disabilities is even more overspent than was reported just a fortnight ago. Councillor Fiona Whelan has discovered that reports of a deficit of between £2.1 and £3.1 million are in fact now predicted to be £3.5 million in Learning Disabilities. This is in addition to the forecast overspend of £9.1 million in the Older People's budget revealed in late July. Lib Dem Shadow Cabinet Member for Adult Care, Cllr Fiona Whelan, said: "The County Council has lost control of its budgets and people needing care ...
Families in Greater Manchester will be able to travel free on Metrolink this Sunday. A voucher for free travel will be printed in the Manchester Evening News later this week. A voucher will be available for download, also later this week, from www.tfgm.com. The voucher will allow groups of up to two adults and up to three children under 16 to travel free on the Metrolink network between 10am and 6pm on Sunday 21 August. There must be at least one adult in the group. Single adults or two adults together can also use the voucher. Transport for Greater Manchester ...
Some time ago, I highlighted the very poor state of the shared roadway/footway of Shaftesbury Place (see right). It has never been adopted by the City Council and is one of relatively few unadopted roadways in the city (as opposed to unadopted footways of which there are well over a hundred). When the matter was first raised by residents, I contacted the City Engineer about the matter. There is no easy solution here because, unlike pavements, there is no "Unadopted Roads Programme" to upgrade them. I understand the former Tayside Regional Council did have such a programme but Dundee City ...
With the end of the school holidays, my weekly surgeries that run during term time start again tonight at 6.15pm at Blackness Primary School (staff room on the ground floor). Full surgery details are available at http://tinyurl.com/surgerieswestend.Following the closure of the Tayside House Podium block in advance of the demolition of Tayside House, the Liberal Democrat Group has relocated this week to the first floor of 8 City Square. Our phone and e-mail details remain unchanged : Cllr Fraser Macpherson - Dundee City Council office - 434985Home number - 459378E-mail - fraser@frasermacpherson.org.uk
Tom Perrotta, Francine Prose, and others on "great books" that aren't great. - By Juliet Lapidos - Slate Magazine On a recent episode of South Park, the kids got all excited about reading The Catcher in the Rye, the supposedly scandalous novel that's been offending teachers and parents for generations. They were, of course, horribly disappointed: As Kyle says, it's "just some whiny annoying teenager talking about how lame he is." (tags: books) Worth Promoting to Its Own Post: Notes on Arguing « Whatever 1. One is entitled to one's own opinions, but not one's own facts. 2. If you ...
I have just spent a very entertaining hour listening to Tam Dalyell - veteran Labour politician and asker of the West Lothian question. He treated his attentive audience to a romp through conspiracy theories and remembrances of Prime Ministers past. Tam came over this evening as caring passionately about his country - both Scotland and the United Kingdom, and caring passionately about the institution of parliament and the democratic process. He has made a career out of being his own man and a thorn in the side of the establishment as he holds them to book for standards of integrity. ...
A TV crew went round Northwich, Cheshire, asking folks for their opinion on the two young men who were jailed concerning Facebook messages, one of which concerned Northwich. Pathetic ...was the response from one young lady. I couldn't agree more. I don't condone what the young men did. But the stupidity of their acts is overwhelming. Why on earth did they think it was a good idea to actually set up an "event" (a riot) on Facebook and then invite people publicly to it? Did they not realise that the police could and would read it? And one of the ...
