...the question is why did it take so long? They were always made for each other.
So there I was enjoying the last night of the proms on the BBC and being all patriotic when this article appeared in my timeline. I am utterly furious to say the least. I don't usually blog at this time ...
The charge of "elitism" is often thrown about by people on the left when someone disagrees with their views on education. It's usually hard to know what they mean by it, but if the concept has a clear meaning it must be the idea that certain sorts of education should be confined to children from the upper or middle classes. So it was very puzzling to read in the Guardian this morning that Toby Young's West London Free School has faced accusations of elitism, partly for making Latin compulsory up to age 14.It seems to be that requiring all children ...
I did a brief summary the other day of the complaints of Tory bloggers, the Tory press and Nadine Dorries that the Lib Dems are just proving too darn effective in government... Mark Pack has now spotted that William Hague has joined in the chorus of disapproval. Any more of this and people will begin to think we're running the country....
I'm assuming that's there's more than just me, [IMG: [personal profile] ] magister, and [IMG: [personal profile] ] po8crg who will be wanting to watch Doctor Who before The Botties. Is there a possibility we might arrange some form of group watchamacating? [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
I've used Blogger for more than five years now; in part because it does the job for me, and because it doesn't require technical knowledge to register on my cantbearsedometer. And, being a creature of habit, I'm happy with that. But there's a little bit of me that can still go 'ooh, shiny,' when offered something new, and Blogger is now tempting me with an exciting new interface that gives me all sorts of extra features (without having to work for them). But there's a catch: Richard was lured into this web of novelty, and it wiped out his template. ...
The Spectator reports: Hague says he's been held back on Europe by the Lib Dems William Hague's comments in an interview with The Times that the Liberal Democrats are restraining the Tories on Europe will increase the grumbling among Tory backbenchers about the power of the junior coalition partner. I'll file that in the 'good news' pile.
I fear I am probably not in the right demographic to appreciate this novel of a privileged New York teenager who discovers that she is even more privileged than she had realised, and, in a revelatory moment at the end, also discovers that the popular boy in the class is a jerk. It's not really in the same league of self-realisation as Catcher in the Rye (which I didn't like anyway) and the humour failed to grab me.
As residents are aware, the construction of the new St Joseph's Primary, Park Place Nursery and Park Place Primary Schools is now well-advanced and the building beginning to take shape. I have raised with the Education Department a constituent concern about construction noise in the early mornings. The contractor, Robertson Construction, has now issued two newsletters to adjacent householders in the Blackness Road, Abbotsford Street, Glenagnes Road/Logie, Rosefield Street and adjacent areas that you can download as follows : May 2011 edition : http://tinyurl.com/may2011edition August 2011 edition : http://tinyurl.com/august2011edition
So asks Daily Telegraph reporter Graeme Archer, who concludes that "the junior Coalition partner's policies have made a mockery of its historic name". The title of his piece was so provocative - and so obviously aspiring to intellectual critique - that I felt compelled to read further. Mr Archer's piece certainly touches on some of the key challenges facing a party experiencing something of an identity crisis and is definitely worthy of a critical and analytical response. Archer begins by asking "if the Liberal Democrats didn't exist, under what circumstances would you choose to create them?"; a pertinent question which ...
The Gadget Show are changing their theme tune. They got presenters Suzi and Jason to compete against each other to compose the best replacement theme tune. You can hear both their efforts here and vote for the one you think is best. I think Suzi's is the best, as it is marginally less chessy than Jason's. There is one slight snag, however. Both the potential replacement tunes are not as good as the current one. So, why change it at all? Here is the current theme tune below in its full glory. It is exceptionally good.
Well I was going to turn the radio off this morning when John Humphreys was interviewing Tony Blair to mark the 10th anniversary of 9/11. But I couldn't go that far, and I caught about half of it. I'm glad I did because it has helped clarify my views on confronting terrorism. Mr Blair's main argument is a lot more subtle than it is often made out to be. He dismisses his critics as believing that the Islamic extremists (and I think that term is a fair one) are not a lunatic fringe who can be contained using normal security ...
I'm on my way home from a meeting of the Council of Unlock Democracy, and I'm a bit frustrated.It was an interesting meeting, although the discussion on a UK Bill of Rights was a bit impenetrable - it's not really my field of interest. We discussed the ongoing work of the organisation, and I was reminded once again how fortunate we are to have a professional staff of such high competence. And yes, we touched on House of Lords reform (briefly).But what irritated me was the debate on our internal elections. As you might expect, we're red hot on representation ...
A couple of years ago, I featured the great version of Ain't no Mountain High Enough by Tammi Terrell and Marvin Gaye. Here's a beautiful high quality version of the video, shot in Montreal in 1967 :
On Friday night I attended the street games at Jane's Brook Rd. This has been a series of 10 weekly sessions and there are 2 more sessions to go. The sessions have been a great success with groups of 30 - 60 children attending. Activities have included: football coaching, dodge-ball, dance, climbing wall, youth services bus and attendances by the fire brigade, police and CPSO's. Friday's session saw the introduction of 2 new activities a canoeing machine and orienteering. Orienteering is a fantastic way to keep fit and learn new map and compass skills. This session saw the use of ...
This the first of my 9/11 posts this weekend, which is a personal recollection of what I was doing on that fateful day. For many people born in the baby boomer generation, the question they all can answer clearly "Where ... Continue reading →
It seems as though William Hague has decided that he doesn't love Liberal Democrats any more, if his interview with The Times, published today, is to be believed. We are, he alleges, cramping the Conservatives on Europe.As a liberal for more than a quarter of a century, one might not be surprised to find that I am less than crushed by the prospect of restraining the Eurosceptic right from its avowed intention of reducing the European Union to a free trade zone (and even then, free on terms favourable to us). Don't get me wrong, like most Liberal Democrats, I ...
For the last couple of years my enthusiasm for superhero comics has been steadily waning. This is not because I've somehow 'grown up' or 'got over it' or any of that nonsense, but because DC Comics have very deliberately, consciously, chosen to lose my custom. While the "DC or Marvel?" question is, of course, a ...
A topic that dominates many council meetings. This is not a party political piece, but a defence against some of the comments made by those who have not taken the time to read just a few bits of the evidence studied over recent years. It comes after comments were made on the gazette website (HERE) in response to an article. I have no great issue with the article, it was simply stating fact -
Sat 10th
15:55
Tim Farron tells it straight: a disappointing, distressing, devastating first year... but Lib Dems r...
It's not often that forewords to the Lib Dem conference directory by the party president make media headlines. But Tim Farron's honest appriasal of the past 500 days of the Lib Dems in Coalition has done just that — 'Naive' Liberal Democrats have suffered a loss of identity, says Tim Farron in The Guardian. The article is very Tim: blunt, honest... but also optimistic. Here's his unspun assessment: The last 12 months has been a bit of a roller coaster for the party, with some fantastic highs reached as we entered into government, followed by some extreme lows in the ...
Simon McGrath has published an article on Liberal Democrat Voice defending the Liberal Democrats' Federal Conference Committee's handling of accreditation. It contains many false assumptions and muddles and some language that is downright misleading. I have commented at length on LDV but I summarise here.1. Simon says that the party not the police take the decision to exclude representatives,
I was very honoured to be asked to raise the Green Flag awarded to the Friends of Corstorphine Hill. Edinburgh has more than half of all the Green Flags in Scotland, one of the reasons why our Parks team picked up an award at the Association of Public Service Excellence Awards (APSE) on Thursday. This flag was special though as it was a Community flag awarded not to the Council but to this excellent group. The snap here is from the event held in the majestic Walled Garden just of Clermiston Road. Ten years ago this was a ruin and ...
This livened up my canvassing round: This Thursday is polling day in the Surbiton Hill by-election. If you can go over to help John Alyes and his impressive team, details are on Flock Together. Bonus feature: see where a Harry Potter scene was filmed.
As a historian, I'd be interested to read your answer to the question posed in the title. Why? Because it was 102 minutes that changed the World. At 8.46am local time, Flight 11 crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center. At 10.28am local time, the North Tower collapsed. Those 102 minutes signalled the beginning and the end of a chain of events that have gone down in infamy, and turned the world upside down. In between, the south Tower had also been struck and had collapsed and the heart of the US Defense - The Pentagon - ...
Lib Dem Voice has carried a number of articles in recent weeks, reflecting wider discussions among Lib Dems, about the security arrangement for the Birmingham Conference. The tone of many of these discussions has reached a quite extraordinary pitch of self-righteousness and vituperation, in many cases based on hearsay and rumour. Perhaps it would be worth looking at some of the facts about the security arrangements. Firstly the idea that this is a decision which Lib Dems can take on our own is simply wrong. Many others attend our conference, the media, exhibitors and the workers in the venue, who ...
It is quite remarkable that a single utterance from the 'Middle East Peace Envoy' is enough to double my blood pressure. His latest pronouncements on the region are little short of laughable - or at least they would be if they weren't so dangerous. Blair said today that it was 'deeply naive' to believe the response of the 'West' to the 9/11 attacks had radicalised muslim extremists. Is he lying, mad or just stupid? If you pound a country - Iraq - into submission because of a tissue of lies about weapons of mass destruction, if you continue to resist ...
Sat 10th
13:59
Councillor Malcolm Attended the Southfield Park Triangle Residents' Association Meeting
Whilst many watched Ealing in the rugby world cup this morning I attended a local residents' meeting. In order the following issues were discussed: The police spoke about three matters -: 1) they introduced a new member of the team (PCSO Emma Green) 2) That the long-standing Seargant (Helene Holloway) has been moved to another ward in Ealing. Her replacement is Seargeant Sergeant Darren Gray. 3) That the Police have gained new powers to clear gangs from Southfield Rec and Acton Green. Please check out this link for more information: The contact details of the Southfield police team are: ...
The death of a relative or loved one is horrible enough at the best of times without the Government forcing local councils to make it even more unpleasant on those who have to register deaths. Their plans to charge everyone registering ...
I'm way way behind with these, so can't really put time into doing them justice. As usual I'm posting in order of internal Who chronology rather than either release order or listening order, which means the one I listened to most recently actually comes first. In John Dorney's Companion Chronicle, The Rocket Men, William Russell tells the story of how Ian Chesterton saves Barbara from certain death when space pirates with jet packs attack the holiday resort where they are staying with the Doctor and Vicki. I was a bit underwhelmed by it, to be honest; for some reason the ...
This just had me falling off of my sofa laughing. Thanks to abjtal on twitter for sending it to me
I'm not really going to be topical on here today. I'm away at the wedding of one of my second cousins. However, when she is marrying someone who until recently was the lead singer in a band Mr Jag that have produced two CDs there is a few clips I can share of the Groom to welcome him into the family. This one I believe was added by my dear friends Ruth and Andrew Garvey Williams. Who I will also see today for the first time this millenium. Here's them performing Temporary January. Finally I've found this cartoon version of ...
The Presidential race in the US got seriously underway on Wednesday night with the first of the live televised debates between Republican's for their party's nomination for presidential candidate. The debate was a real eye opener because it changed the game ...
Sat 10th
12:31Update on Lib Dem conference accreditation: 5,617 approved, 138 in progress, 150 pending. One person...
Jon Ball has just updated live from the Lib Dems' Federal Conference Committee with the latest on the party's conference accreditation which has provoked such internal controversy in recent weeks: Lib Dem conference accreditation update from FCC. 5,617 people have been approved. 138 applications are in progress. There are issues with 150 applications in various categories including photos missing or unsuitable and some people (almost all non-members) being asked to provide passports at conference. These are technical issues that are very unlikely to lead to refusal. However, one person has been refused accreditation by the Chair of FCC, the President ...
Paul Burstow MP recently wrote in these pages explaining the government's decision to lift the lifetime ban on MSM blood donations. I have tabled an amendment to my motion at Conference next week, Science Not Stigma: Ending the Blood Ban, to oppose the deferral on the MSM group. First and foremost, I'd like to emphasise that throughout this campaign, I have avoided use of the words "discrimination", "homophobic" and "bigoted". I am aware that this separates me from some others who have campaigned on the matter, but I think it's really important. I have great respect for the NHS and ...
Do you have Bloggers' Block? Are you finding it hard to discipline yourself to get down to it and write that post you know you have to get up? Do you have a deadline looming? Well, thanks to author Keris Stainton for pointing this out last night, you might find Write or Die a useful tool. I don't think it actually does kill you - although, to be fair, I haven't actually tested its limitations. The screen rapidly turning from white to pink to scary red has been enough to concentrate my mind so far. Mind you, I could just ...
Thanks to Lib Dem Voice for precis-ing the new issue of Liberator, which apparently includes a piece by Becky Tinsley about a group called Waging Peace, of which I had never previously heard - it sounds excellent. If they ever organised a fringe meeting at Lib Dem Conference, I'd be there, especially if it was on Sudan (by which I mean "about Sudan" as in the country, not "on Sunday" with a typing error). Talking of fringe meetings, and for the benefit of this blog's reader, Arthur, in Cheltenham - Arthur may recall that last year I complained about a ...
(note to self: This is a shallow and juvenile post. Playing bass is clearly retarding our personal development.) Playing live is better than sex. It's sweaty, noisy fun and I can go for hours. It's hard, it's fast, it's slow, it's tender, and there's plenty of eye contact. Yes, ladies, not only am I the one with the biggest, longest guitar in the bar but I know what to do with it, too. I sometimes even give it a bit of a spanking, because some people like to watch that kind of thing. Looking forwards to working up a sweat ...
Many people will be reading that headline asking the question, who? Well in my mind Michael Stern Hart is one of the most influential people of our generation. You see Michael Stern Hart had a vision of a world where millions ...
Today's Guardian has a interesting piece by Patrick Wintour on the influence of Dr Evan Harris and the Social Liberal Forum in the Liberal Democrats (this on the day the Conference Committee meets to finalise the amendments and emergency motions on the Conference agenda). I've known Evan since 1997 when I spent the last four weeks of the campaign working to get him elected in Oxford West & Abingdon. I've worked closely with him at various times since. In all that time it's fair to say that Evan's drive does not compare to most mere mortals. That and his ...
Sat 10th
11:05
What would the Federal Conference Committee say if Police demanded biometric #ldconf passes?
I've written many times of my concerns about the new accreditation procedures for Liberal Democrat conference. I feel that they are unnecessarily intrusive, expensive and will not make our Conference safer. They are to my mind fundamentally illiberal. No way should the state's law enforcers have the right to determine the extent of my political activity. For Federal Conference Committee, this is an issue of process, not principle. They argue they can't get insurance if they don't take Police advice. Without insurance, no self respecting venue will take us, they argue. No venue means no Conference of course. So my ...
The Guardian write 'Naive' Liberal Democrats have suffered a loss of identity, says Tim Farron in which they make a very short comment on something which can be considered a strength for the Lib Dem ministers: Lib Dem ministers have since been more assertive in government, notably over NHS reforms.
The Guardian write Evan Harris is a more powerful Liberal Democrat out of parliament than inside in which it highlights some strengths in Evan Harris and the Lib Dems which are worth highlighting: Evan Harris, the bright-eyed former MP for Oxford West and Abingdon, is becoming living proof that a former MP can indeed be ...
Today's article in the Daily Telegraph alleging that the Conservative Party has received millions of pounds in donations from developers who stand to benefit from the Government's controversial planning reforms is not good news for the coalition government, nor does it bode well for the Tories. The paper says that dozens of property firms have given a total of £3.3 million to the Tories over the past three years, including large gifts from companies seeking to develop rural land. They add that developers are also paying thousands of pounds for access to senior Tories through the Conservative Property Forum, a club ...
A second day at Bonkers Hall As loyal readers will be aware, I have long been at the forefront of new technology. Was I not the first person in Rutland to have a telephone? (I have to admit that it proved something of a disappointment as it never rang. When I enquired about this failure, I was told it was because no one else in Rutland had a telephone). Similarly, I was something of a pioneer of television, as I could often be seen casting a fly or gralloching a stag on the popular Bonkers Country programme broadcast from Alexandra ...
Jenny Willott, MP for Cardiff Central, is the latest Liberal Democrat MP to join Twitter. She's @JennyWillott. Nice to see that Jenny's second tweet is promoting her email campaigning - a good reminder of the sensible order of priorities for (almost) any politician. You can follow all of the Liberal Democrat MPs on Twitter via the list I curate at twitter.com/markpack/libdem-mps and, if you have more of a London interest, you can follow the Liberal Democrat GLA members and candidates, including Mayor candidate Brian Paddick, via the list twitter.com/markpack/london-assembly.
Episode 126 of ATV's Crossroads from April 1965. This is the earliest clip I can find of Crossroads. You can certainly see the inspiration for Victoria Wood's Acord Antiques (clip below for comparison). Get your own valid XHTML YouTube embed code Get your own valid XHTML YouTube embed code
Perhaps it is me. Maybe I have the sort of geeky brain that stores irrelevant facts that others have long forgotten. But what is all the fuss about Nick Bourne's statement on Radio Wales last Sunday, that the Welsh Conservatives once considered changing their name? It is hardly news. After all it happened in 2002 and was widely reported in the Western Mail and the Daily Post amongst others, as is evidenced here and here. Despite that the Western Mail carries a piece by its political reporter, Matt Withers in which he claims that Murdo Fraser's call for a separate ...
So, I've been busy with work this week and will be busy this weekend as well which means I don't have time for a proper blog post. So instead I am proud to present this series of funny videos which also contain things that the tories would very much hope you forget. The first two videos are genuinely hilarious mockery of the tories, but also contain information relating to a rather disgraceful affair which happened in my patch and involves not one, not two, but three current tory MPs - two of them government ministers: And here's the second one: ...
Who could possibly watch this and not feel happy for at least a few minutes?
The Register of Electors forms are arriving on our doormats. Don't forget to return yours! If you aren't on the electoral register you can't vote in elections - and the register also gets checked if you apply for credit. It doesn't take long to fill out the form. If there are no changes you can simply do it by telephone or online. Remember that if you won't want your details used for marketing, you need to tick the right-hand column on the form, confirm that to the person on the telephone or tick the box on the online-form.
Sat 10th
08:45LDVideo | George Osborne's GQ award embarrassment: when political jokes go bad (and when they go rig...
The Chancellor George Osborne has been left red-faced by his controversially potty-mouthed acceptance speech at the GQ awards when picking up a gong. His references to the magazine's adult content, and use of the word 'wankers', has attracted widespread criticism for crudeness, and conduct unbecoming the dignity of his office — even his usual supporters in the Tory party, such as ConservativeHome's Tim Montgomerie, have turned on Mr O. See what you think here: (Available on YouTube here.) One of the most thoughtful and most harsh condemnations of George Osborne comes from the Telegraph's Damien Thompson, who connects the Chancellor's ...
Leading Cambridgeshire Fire Authority member, Geoff Heathcock, fears residents and fire-fighters could be at risk from the inadequate level of cover across Cambridge. He claims, despite assurances from a senior fire office in response to his concerns, he is still worried about the level of cover even before possible cuts to the service are implemented next year. Cllr Heathcock raised his initial concerns after two serious incidents which took place in under an hour recently. Of the 13 fire stations in East and South Cambridgeshire, only four which were not directly involved in the two fires, could guarantee a crew. ...
For the background to this post please see Testament of Yoof (1) "Third, a Liberal is an Internationalist. He realises that the inequalities that exist in this country are nothing compared with the inequalities between this country and the developing world. He believes that our rich country should, as one of its highest priorities, play its full part in assisting the Third World in its fight for economic development. In practical terms this means that he will not only press for the raising of Britain's Aid Bill to 1% of our G.N.P., at once, but he will also fight for ...
It's time for kick off in Scotland's first match of the Rugby World Cup, so it's only right that I post the Scottish anthem: Flower of Scotland. Of course, it's completely coincidental that it should be from the Grand Slam decider in 1990. And we all know what happened then... It's nice to hear the late, great Bill McLaren's voice on that clip too. Andrew
Note from Herts County Council Bottles of booze containing industrial solvent have been seized by Hertfordshire Trading Standards. The bottles, labelled as Drop Vodka, were being sold from an off licence in Potters Bar. Hertfordshire Trading Standards received a complaint from a consumer who felt ill after consuming the product. Officers seized all remaining stock from the store and submitted a bottle to the public analyst. The analysis revealed that the product contained propan-2-ol (isopropyl alcohol or rubbing alcohol) at 2g per 100ml of the spirit. Propan-2-ol is a common industrial solvent widely used as a cleaning fluid, and may ...
All over West Hampstead and Fortune Green people are hatching development schemes - ranging from small back extensions, loft conversions, basement digouts to bigger and more alarming developments. Many of these larger schemes involve the railway corridor and along Maygrove and Iverson Road. There is a large housing association development under construction in Maygrove Road adjoining the Sidings Estate and another scheme being planned next door to it which could tower over the newly refurbished Peace Park. (Watch this spot on this one) All year the Gondar Gardens Reservoir site was rumbling on (hopefully now dead in the water - ...
Here's Seasick Steve on Jules Holland with Led Zepp's John Paul Jones on base.
Many people feel, now we're in coalition, that they don't know what the Liberal Democrats stand for. Answering that question has never been more important - but it's not a new problem. For many of us, Liberalism is the clearest, most consistent philosophy among Britain's political parties... But not a lot of other people see it that way! Back in 1999, the Passports To Liberty series published my own idea of Liberalism, Love and Liberty. I've previously republished some of it here, adding new notes. Tonight I set out why freedom from poverty is one of our three great aims. ...
