If ever I am at a loss for something to photograph, I have a look at the the Leicester Mercury and see what the city council or De Montfort University or someone else is planning to pull down next. Today it was the former Great Central Railway wagon repair works in Upperton Road, which developers want to demolish so they can build student accommodation. In all honesty the old works, more recently occupied by C P H (Thurmaston) Ltd, does not look this picturesque from every angle. But it is a part of the city's vanishing railway history and it ...
Posted by Chris: My Grandson Daniel and I went along to a windy Green Lane today to watch local Wearside League team Redcar Athletic FC in action against fellow high flyers Jarrow FC. Redcar Athletic started the match joint top of the League on 13 points along with today's opponents Jarrow FC and Darlington Cleveland Bridge FC. Promotion from the Wearside League would take Redcar into the Northern League. Redcar needs a successful team playing in a decent league and everyone connected with Redcar Athletic is trying to achieve this. What they lack is local support and many local football ...
You may have read my blog post about the EDL march today in East London and seen some of the photos. This post contains some of the other photo's I took while walking the streets today.
According to the Torygraph, David Cameron may be about to do something that not even Margaret Thatcher was able to achieve and kill off the Conservatives in Scotland. This may seem far fetched but it is what Murdo Fraser MSP and one of the possible winners of the leadership contest is proposing. What Fraser wants is to hold a ballot of members with the proposal to disband the Scottish Conservativies and set up a new right wing party in Scotland. He believes that the Conservative brand is too toxic in Scotland since the wipe out in 1997 under the leadership ...
Today has been one of the nicest days that we've had for a while now, so naturally Ros and I were off to Cambridge for a Regional Executive Committee meeting. One thing that I've noticed about the East of England Region, as opposed to London, is that we don't know each other as well. Geographic considerations mean that we do more by teleconference, and we hold fewer meetings as an Executive Committee. That's good in terms of travel, but bad in that there is more to talk about when we do get together. Also, we don't have the familiarity with ...
Three weeks tomorrow the last three tower blocks in Sighthill will be blown up. I got to press the "Wiley Coyote" plunger three years ago to take down Broomview House in Sighthill. It was my "Jim'll Fix It" moment. Here is the official video of the event. Not easily forgotten! The event should take place at 10 am on the 25th.
From Sheena Wellington : Friends of Wighton are delighted to announce that the first Lunchtime Recital of the autumn season, on Wednesday 7th September, will feature virtuoso mouth organ player Bryce Johnstone. Bruce, from Leslie, Fife, is an excellent Tremolo player who has performed at festivals and concerts all over Scotland. The recital runs from 1.15 - 1.45pm. Admission is free - donations are welcome.
Must be a good bet for X Factor winner 2011 !
As far as I am aware there is just the one meeting at Blyth Town Council next week There will be a full meeting of the council on Thursday 8th September, at the Buffalo Centre, Regent Street, Blyth , starting at 7pm As usual there will be a public question time prior to the Council Meeting Unfortunately I cannot tell you what's on the agenda, as I was not sent a copy of the Agenda (or the minutes of the last meeting ) in the EMail with all the papers. I assume this was just an oversight, I'm not so ...
I'm not a Doctor Who fan. So tonight I've been watching ITV and the newest Saturday evening entertainment extravaganza - Red or Black? Just like Channel 4's recent success with The Million Pound Drop where the added suspense of knowing that anything can happen in front of your eyes, adds an excitement that is lacking in its pre-recorded equivalent. Equality of Opportunity I've been derided for being a fan of Deal or No Deal but I'll stand by that and it's for the same reason that I've enjoyed Red or Black this evening. The format comes down to a simple ...
I'll have some proper content up tomorrow – a Doctor Who post up at Mindless Ones, and a Monkees post. And I'll be posting again properly within a couple of weeks. Thanks to those of you still reading this for bearing with me while I'm a zombie-like half-human from working every hour there is. A ...
[IMG: Clegg Q and A 20] [IMG: Creative Commons License] photo credit: Liberal Democrats Mark Pack has written an updated review of Nick Clegg – The Biography by Chris Bowers. When Nick Clegg spoke to LibDems in Newbury last month, he mentioned that, with every passing week, he realises how different he is to David Cameron. Much of this is, doubtless, down to Nick Clegg's background, as Mark highlights: ...the story of Nick Clegg's family background does much to illuminate both his strong liberal roots and the form his liberalism takes. The Dutch egalitarianism of his mother and her bemusement ...
I don't like cheating, and like all football watchers I particularly don't like cheating when it happens against my team (like this diving **** in today's European Championship qualifier http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMKnOmJOagg). But what I particularly dislike is the attitude of the game's governing bodies towards cheating, and their failure to punish it in any way, thus sending the message "cheating is fine if you do it well". Instant review systems are employed in a variety of other sports in order for matches to be settled by skill, chance and all those other things that make sport interesting, but not by the ...
When I woke up this morning, I had no intention of putting myself in the middle of a volatile situation amongst racists and anti fascists. I had in fact had every intention of sitting on my backside in the conservatory ...
The party political broadcast (PPB for short) divides the anoraks from the average. Here at Voice Towers we try to cater to both, but this post's most likely to pique the inerest of the former, as we rewind more than half a century, and recall some of the PPBs of yesteryear... 1951: Viscount Samuel (alas, this one's brief and with poor sound quality) (Available on YouTube here.) The Liberal Answer (1955) with Frank Bowers & John Arlott, who found greater fame as a cricket commentator (Available on YouTube here.) Jo Grimond "talks to you straight" (1959) (Available on YouTube here.) ...
The Council has been writing to people about its proposals on eligibility for care. Part of this involves a questionniare to get the views of people who receive a service (and others like carers and family members). I was contacted by a Garston lady earlier this week concerned that she hadn't received a questionnaire and that she might miss the deadline to give in any views. It turns out that the letters went out without the questionniares (I am told this is so that people could request them in the right format for them and so that people who didnt ...
I have just come across this from LCVS which is relevant to any organisations doing work that benefits people in Speke. NB: the deadline is quite tight. Speke Connecting Communities Fund A small pot of funding is available to help community and voluntary organisations, which benefit people in Speke. Maximum amount of funding per application £1,000. For application form and applicant criteria please contact Eileen Deakin on 0151 233 2319 or email eileen.deakin@liverpool.gov.uk. Applications must be returned by 12noon on 16 September 2011. Letters confirming funding will be sent out to successful applicants 23 September 2011.
I've recently read Gore Vidal's 'Last Empire', a very interesting book which has been constructed by collating a collection of essays published from 1992 to 2000. The book covers a variety of subject matter; however it was the political content which most interested me. Vidal predictably promotes his sceptical and disdainful social critique on American politics and government. It is Vidal's radical and strong opinions which make him such a compelling author, and whilst the work is now dated, his analysis in this book is often persuasive. One of the more poignant essays covers the Republican Party's outrageous and protracted ...
Thanks to the reader who alerted me to the fact that the Open Spaces Society has objected to a proposed development that would encroach on common land at Great Bowden, just north of Market Harborough. The proposed development would see houses built on land at Fernie Hunt Stables, Nether Green, Great Bowden. One of the proposed gardens would be on registered common land, yet the Society says that the developers fail even to mention this in their application. Kate Ashbrook, the general secretary of the Open Spaces Society, says: "We have objected most strongly to this development, in support of ...
Ortis Deeley is a very talented television and radio presenter. He does an excellent job on the Gadget Show. But he has come unstuck a bit as a result of fronting Channel Four's coverage of the International Athletics Championships. It just goes to show what a great skill live television presentation is. I think it is rather unfair that Ortis was put in that position. His live broadcasting experience has been fairly modest. If you compare his CV to that of John Inverdale, who is his equivalent on the BBC, it's like comparing chalk and cheese. Inverdale has 29 years' ...
The Shropshire Star keeps up its impressive record by winning our Headline of the Day Award again. This time it is made for: Downloads take forever - 007 Daniel Craig's fatherYou see, Daniel Craig's father lives near Oswestry and isn't happy with his broadband connection.
The Doctor Who News Page: Target reprints reach North America I was able to leaf through these in a bookshop last month, and they are all brilliant - particularly the introductions. (tags: doctorwho books) james_nicoll: Not related to previous post James asks, "Who's been saying the Hugo process is corrupt?" I think the answer to the question is, nobody - apart from the voices in some people's heads. See much slapfighting in comments. (tags: sf)
Peter Black: Lib Dems flex muscles to thwart Dorries' anti-abortion amendment Huppmeister J being awesome again, I see. (tags: libdemmery feminism) THE PETER CUSHING PUB WHITSTABLE INTERIOR IMAGES Regular readers will know of my visceral loathing for JD Wetherspoon PLC and all their works. None the less, I approve of this. (tags: pubs) The Math Gender Gap: Nurture Trumps Nature (tags: feminism) Quick hit: the science front of nymwars | Geek Feminism Blog Something I have never understood about big groups of people: they see another group cocking up and causing all sorts of strife and they think "hey, we ...
This is the first post in a one-off series of posts marking one year since the court case which saw Phil Woolas removed from Parliament. The first blog post I wrote about Phil Woolas highlighted some of the questionable remarks ... Continue reading →
Today was the first Stockport Festival – put on largely by businesses and traders, with support from others (the Council gave free parking for the day). Here are a few photos
The rolling saga that is security checks for people attending Liberal Democrat conference has generated a lot of heat, some light – and a fair degree of confusion. So this post is my attempt to untangle the main aspects of the story, which really fall into three sections: the principle of the checks, the way the checks have been communicated and the way the checks have in practice been carried out. In theory, the principle of whether or not the Liberal Democrat conference organisers should have agreed to the police's request for extra security checks on attendees for the autumn ...
Cast your mind back to October 2007. A fresh faced recently elected MP is running for the leadership of his party. One of the most eye-catching and in some ways audacious comments that the MP made was on ID cards which he was clearly completely opposed to: "If the legislation is passed I will lead a grassroots campaign of civil disobedience to thwart the identity cards programme ... I, and I expect thousands of people like me, will simply refuse ever to register." The MP was Nick Clegg and as we know not long afterwards he was elected leader of ...
I have already congratulated Brian Paddick on his selection as the Liberal Democrat candidate for Mayor of London in the election of 2012, and I want to echo that congratulation here. Brian is a terrific candidate. The closeness of the result demonstrates the esteem in which Mike Tuffrey (who came second in the selection) is held by many people, and it's great also that Brian Haley got such a creditable result as a candidate who was perhaps less well-established in the party than the other three. And Lembit Opik - well, he stood as well, didn't he, and he needs ...
The Electoral Reform Society (ERS) are meeting in London for their AGM today and I imagine that those attending are digesting the result of the ballot for the Society's ruling council which were declared a couple of days ago. The full results are here: Results of the 2011 ERS Council elections Having over the last few weeks blogged about these elections here and here, I thought I better record my response to the result. All of my top five choices of candidate got elected – so on that score I am happy with the outcome. In general it looks like ...
TweetThe coach travel cut to pensioners and disabled people has hit the news at a quiet time and so it is getting far more coverage than it deserves. Norman Baker MP was brilliant on the subject on this week's Today Programme. When the proposed cuts were consulted on in 2010, National Express and other coach companies said they were happy to start providing the half price deal themselves, as indeed they had done up until 2003. The coach companies are now claiming they are being constricted by the Government. They've got used to having an easy life without making compassionate ...
This is the final game of the outdoor season and it is a must win game for us. The team with the most shots across the green will get 3 points this afternoon and for each rink that is up there will be a point. In total there is a maximum of 7 points at stake. Here is the bottom of NIBA division 3. As you can see we at North Down are 5 points behind Markethill, so we have to win and they have to lose. Fortunately we'll be able to keep and eye on how they are doing ...
The other day, The Burd posed six questions for Mike Moore in response to the Scottish Secretary's attempt to nail Salmond's independence jelly to the wall. I thought it was worth repeating the questions and the answers I left as a comment. I hope she doesn't mind. The formatting has gone a bit loopy, but I can't do anything about it as I have to run for a train. 1. What are you doing to regulate banks more tightly so that they cannot gamble their way to riches with our money, at our expense? Indeed, just what jot of a ...
I'm off to Hackney on Sunday afternoon to talk about the state of our media after the original speaker for the Hackney Liberal Democrats event has had to pull out. It turns out to be rather timely as I've just been reading Nick Davies's seminal work on the state of our press, Flat Earth News. What do I make of the book? Come along tomorrow to find out... Details of the events are on Facebook and FlockTogether and you can save £2 by booking online in advance.
I have to say that I was rather disappointed by this classic work on mythology. On the plus side, it is indeed fascinating to put myths from very different points in time and space beside each other to note the similarities; Campbell is consistent and clinical in subjecting the Bible to the same scrutiny as any other culture; and for myself, I learned a thing or two about Cuchulain, not just a local hero and contributor to Ulster geography but in fact an exemplar of several different widely found characters in folklore. But I found the structure rather confusing, both ...
This is a change from the previous note due to 'problems' in commissioning the tree work.
A number of residents have contacted the Lib Dem team with concerns about the Gothic pub. Under the previous management the pub had numerous problems with anti-social behaviour, noise and other issues. New management are looking to re-open the pub as a wine bar, and have told us they are looking to attract wealthier customers and to avoid the problems of the past. We want to ensure residents can have their say, and that if any new wine bar or pub does open, it is a good neighbour that doesn't cause problems. It is currently unclear whether the new management ...
On September 4th last year, I decided to undertake a novel social experiment. I was going to go where I had never thought I'd go. Not only that, but I was going to go to a place which had in the past attracted ridicule from this very place. Yes, I was going to enter the dark, murky world of blogging. An Aborted Start I had in fact made an aborted attempt back at the beginning of 2009, beginning with a blog post on the eve of President Obama's innauguration. But I only managed 7 blog posts over the next 5 ...
Apparently, TV host Ortis Deley has been dropped as Channel 4's main presenter of its world athletics coverage after an excruciating series of blunders. The Guardian says that until this week the 38-year-old broadcaster, first talent-spotted as a contestant on Blind Date, had enjoyed a blameless career, mainly in children's and youth programmes on cable stations and at the BBC. For the past two years, he had co-presented Channel 5's The Gadget Show: In the course of a few hapless days, Deley repeatedly stumbled over the names of star athletes ("the Honourable Leo Usain Bolt") and his trackside commentators. He ...
This morning's Guardian reports that Nadine Dorries' campaign to toughen Britain's abortion laws is losing momentum as Tory MPs on Friday backed a rival amendment and questions emerged about links to Christian counselling services that might benefit from the proposed reform. The Guardian say that Dorries has confirmed to them that the organisations supporting her campaign include a "crisis pregnancy centre", a type of advisory service often linked to religious anti-abortion activists: Dorries is coming under pressure to reveal how her allies are funded. One of the most vocal public supporters of the Right to Know campaign backing the Dorries ...
Sorry this is so late, because the blog was on holiday: Alcohol seizures:- 1 in Blackhill Park There have been no reported domestic burglaries for this period. There has been 1 reported non-domestic burglary for this period relating to persons gaining entry to the bus company offices on Medomsley Rd . Cash was taken and two suspected were identified enquiries continue There have been 9 reported incidents of Personal Antisocial Behaviour (ASB). One address has been identified as a repeat victim, however this relates to problems between 2 separate parties. There have been 23 reported incidents of ASB nuisance, 9 ...
The wonderful Harpo Marx from "Go West".
Autumn is traditionally the season why many local councillors and would-be councillor start thinking about sorting out their online activity ahead of next spring's elections. It's certainly a good item on the to-do list as leaving it all till after Christmas is leaving it all rather late. So as the weather is distinctively autumnal, here are four tips to make your use of email lists more effective: Respect the tortoise Worry about two numbers Learn from the experience of others Test, test, test Of course, email newsletters should be part of a wider, integrated plan to make good use of ...
"He could be the grumpiest guy on earth, but he had a laugh that would have filled the O2 arena" That sounds like our Andrew, doesn't it? When Secretary of State for Scotland Michael Moore gave the tribute at Andrew Reeves' funeral, he appeared on the order of service simply as Michael Moore. No Rt Hon, no MP. He was there, like the rest of us, saying goodbye to a much loved friend. Andrew thought very highly of Mike and was always quick to point out to anyone who would listen how helpful Mike was, how supportive of our candidates, ...
You may have noticed that I have a thing or two about graffiti, potholes and local grot spots. Apart from the merit in itself of resolving such issues, the 'broken windows' theory argues that small examples of criminal behaviour, such as broken windows but also illegal dumping, graffiti and so on, encourages more serious criminal behaviour too. It can be a direct link - people are encouraged to further break the law when they see that it is what other people do - and also an indirect link - grotty areas make people shun them. Either way, it is one ...
The latest London Review of Books has a review of D.R. Thorpe's Supermac: The Life of Harold Macmillan by Ferdinand Mount His conclusion: Supermac in his heyday was a class act. In his later years the satirists got at him, and to the young he was a somewhat moth-eaten comic figure. Thorpe tells us at the end that 'Macmillan was a great prime minister for much of his time in Downing Street.' There is a certain desperation about those italics. What was his legacy, after all? Premium Bonds and the Beeching Report. Macmillan said of Eden, quite rightly, that he ...
At some point yesterday, I may have given the impression that Lembit Opik had said something sensible before I knew the full extent of his thrashing. I think he has a point when he says: "I stood because I felt the Lib-Dems desperately need to reach beyond their traditional voters. Boris and Ken are celebrity politicians. I fear the party doesn't grasp the implications of this." It's just a shame then yesterday on the BBC he had to go compare himself to Nelson Mandela. "I think like every great politician you have to have some wilderness years. Nelson Mandela had ...
A member of the Literal History Group is researching the Liberal Revival in the Batley and Morley constituency (as it then was) in the 1960s and 70s. He has unearthed an article I wrote as PPC for our Members' Newsletter in April 1970, and has asked me to what extent I'd stand by it today. Well, pretty much all of it, actually. The article is rather long (members were assumed to have a longer attention span than in in today's "sound bite" era,) so I'll reproduce in in smaller snippets. "In past issues of Contact I have tried to explain ...
I'm current sat in "the bar" in the Rootes building at Warwick University, waiting for the restaurant to open for breakfast. I'm up and about at this unseemly hour for a Saturday as I'm at the OUPS DD307 revision weekend. At this time of the morning, this place feels even more like the name I remember it by from the early 80s – the airport lounge. There have been two "ouches" so far. The first one was a useful one – I think I may have figured out where I've been going wrong (or not as right as I could ...
London Lib Dems have sent Lembit Opik a clear message. In coming last in the selection for the unenviable job of Lib Dem Mayoral candidate - on top of his humilation in the party's Presidential election - it is clear that ordinary Lib Dem members do not want him to represent them at any level. And it's not difficult to see why: a constant stream of mid life crises played out in their full tacky technicolour in disreputable rags have made Lembit a minor celebrity but shredded his reputation as a serious political player. And at the end of the ...
Sometimes it really is very difficult focusing on the arguments.
This cannot but be reported further:- It is my painful duty to report the sad death of political satire after a long, lingering and painful death. Satire finally gave up what had in recent years become an unequal struggle with reality when Lembit Opik compared himself to Nelson Mandela. It was a blow from which there could be no return. socialise this: [IMG: add 'The Death Of Political Satire, Part 4' a Del.icio.us] [IMG: add 'The Death Of Political Satire, Part 4' a digg] [IMG: add 'The Death Of Political Satire, Part 4' a Stumble Upon] [IMG: add 'The Death ...
This is Melingo again. This time with Fabian Cantilo. Ayer is by a mile the most listened to track on my i-tunes. More than any by the Who , Kinks, and Van the Man and that says something! This track is simply superb with two brilliant voices and a bandeleo which dips into the piece perfectly. Watch and enjoy....
The Doctor Who News Page: Target reprints reach North America I was able to leaf through these in a bookshop last month, and they are all brilliant - particularly the introductions. (tags: doctorwho books) james_nicoll: Not related to previous post James asks, "Who's been saying the Hugo process is corrupt?" I think the answer to the question is, nobody - apart from the voices in some people's heads. See much slapfighting in comments. (tags: sf)
In celebration of the decision by the elders of Old Reekie to progress with the tram system, here's the (almost) official video: PS - I have to say I hadn't ever realised how Soviet the National Gallery can look...
