Last year as part of Anti Bullying week, I took the opportunity to write to the headmaster of my old school, Ballymena Academy, to seek clarity on the school's policy on bullying, particularly homophobic bullying. Today I got his response.Continue reading »
Sat 24th
23:39
University funding: LibDems are trying to benefit lower earning households. Labour are trying to ben...
[IMG: DePaul Academy Graduation - 1949] [IMG: Creative Commons License] photo credit: ChicagoGeek I have read few excellent posts on Ed Miliband's proposal regarding university funding or "tuition fees" as it is called in, arguably inaccurate, shorthand. Graeme Cowie on Predictable Paradox has put together an excellent deconstruction of the proposal entitled: Ed Miliband's Tax Cut for Rich Graduates. On Program your mind 2, Lee Griffin has an excellent post called The art of pledging: Ed Miliband and tuition fees. John Hemming MP, who has a brain the size of Asia, sums it all up beautifully in a brief post: ...
I have a funny feeling that the autumn is going to be busy, so it is nice to be on holiday for a little while. And you might guess from the title that we're back in Dresden, having enjoyed the city so much in May that we were moved to come back. This time, we have some proper exploration in mind, given that last time, we were a bit disorganised, drifting around in a bit of a haze, and quite dismally failing to visit most of the key attractions. The guidebook has been read (mostly by Ros, I admit), plans ...
When I sat down to put together my latest Six of the Best on Thursday I went first to an article by Maureen Rigg about intrusive security at the last week's Liberal Democrat Conference in Birmingham. But when I clicked on the link it no longer worked. Jolly mysterious. Had Maureen been nobbled? Was it perhaps the work of Percy Alleline or Toby Esterhase? Then this afternoon, just as mysteriously, that article - or one very like it - appeared on Liberal Democrat Voice. What is going on here? I am glad the editors of Lib Dem Voice like it ...
I've removed the Facebook sharing feature from my blog posts because of this. Incidentally, while I am on Facebook and G+, because I know people who I can only stay in contact with that way, I think it would be a very good thing if people started to move to Diaspora instead. In other news, ...
I died today. You got tired of me and took me to the shelter. They were overcrowded and I drew ...Continue reading »
Yesterday's Guardian reported that, as part of Blue Peter's move to Salford, the producers are to phase out the show's pets: BBC insiders say there has been concern about whether the programme's agenda is keeping pace with the changing interests of its target age group of six- to 12-year-olds.Nostalgia is always a danger when considering a programme that survives from your own childhood. And when I wrote about the litter of puppies that the programme's dog Petra had, I recognised that much had changed since 1965: It all sounds like an aristocratic family: Patch stayed at home as the heir ...
Welcome to Broxtowe Enews, brought to you by the Liberal Democrats and edited by David Watts, the leader of the Lib-Dem group on Broxtowe Borough Council. A special welcome to the new readers that we have this week. There is quite a lot to cover in this edition as there was no news last week as I was at the Lib-Dem conference in Birmingham. It was an excellent conference, which seemed to confound the national media. They were there in droves, expecting us to engage in a civil war over the poor election results in May, but instead it was ...
The news that Labour support the increase in tuition fees to 6K at the lower end, but not the higher end to 9k is an odd piece of news.Basically under the coalition scheme the graduates in the bottom half of earnings are not affected by this proposal. Those who would benefit are those who earn in their life time more than the 52nd percentile.In fact many of these would hardly be affected (those
Today has seen me attend my final tutorial for DD307 and press the "submit" button on my SD226 EMA. It really is the beginning of the end now, with just the DD307 exam to go in less than three weeks. I'm sure that at some point in the future I'll be able to reflect properly on my Open University journey over the last five years. It's been a lot of fun and I feel that it's helped me to improve at work too. When I write sales proposals now I think that they make a lot more sense than they ...
So the breaking news is that Ed Miliband will promise that if he were to win a general election tomorrow he'd cut tuition fees to £6k from the coalition set £9k. Let's make it clear he says that this will not necessarily be a manifesto Firstly, this kind of announcement is why I've asked Nick Clegg, Ed Davey, Vince Cable, and Tim Farron about tuition fees, where we go as a Liberal Democrat party, and do us allow Miliband to outflank us, as he will probably do now through very favourable press coverage and NUS spin. Secondly, the details of ...
Talking to the Guardian Ed Milliband said "We can't build a successful economy if our young people come out of university burdened down by £50,000 of debt," he said. "We can't build a successful economy if the kids from all backgrounds are put off going to university."So instead Ed will saddle them with around £40Ks worth of financial commitments. That's ok then!
I loved: ( spoiler ) I hated: ( spoiler ) So, you know, more things to love than hate. And the trailer for next week looks V cool indeed. And did I mention I want a cybermat? SO CUTE! [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
TweetAs I detail on Twitter regularly, four weeks ago I got it into my head I was going to start cycling from St Pancras Station to Clerkenwell to save money. The solution was a 10kg Barclays 'Boris-Bike' Cycle. Bearing in mind I hadn't got on a bike for eleven years, let alone cycled in London, ...
Lib Dem Voice has polled our members-only forum to discover what Lib Dem members think of various political issues, the Coalition, and the performance of key party figures. Some 550 party members responded, and we're currently publishing the full results. Ed Miliband's leadership gets massive thumbs-down from Lib Dem members LDV asked: Do you think Ed Miliband is doing well or badly as leader of the Labour party? 1% – Very well 16% – Well Total well = 17% 53% – Badly 25% – Very badly Total badly = 78% 5% – Don't know / No opinion Ed Miliband's leadership ...
As Labour delegates make their way to Liverpool for their annual conference there must be concern in the party about the latest poll that suggests that voters are unconvinced by Ed Miliband's ability to lead a future Labour Government. The poll conducted by YouGov reports that a staggering 41% of voters would be dismayed if Labour ... Continue reading »
[IMG: Erleigh Road 49] We work hard all year round helping to keep Redlands clean and tidy for the benefit of residents. Earlier this week a constituent contacted me to complain about this eyesore on Erleigh Road. There is no excuse for people leaving rubbish all over the place like this. It adds to a sense of degradation at local level which we have worked hard over the years to stop and turn around. However, it is a constant battle - particularly in streets with a high turn over of residents like this one in the University area. I ...
Liberal Democrats at grassroots level across the country had been suffering since our landslide defeat in local elections and the defeat of the Alternative Vote referendum in May 2011. This has led, I believe, to a reduction in political engagement across the party at a local and national level. That is why the autumn conference was both an opportunity to look to the future, and to celebrate Liberal Democratic core values and successes within the Coalition. Phoenixes of a feather flocked together in Birmingham last week, and immediately campaigners felt more at ease and more positive. Despite valid concerns about ...
[IMG: Eldon Terrace fly-tipping sept 2011] I spotted this mess while out in the ward earlier today. It is located a longstanding fly-tipping hotspot on Eldon Terrace - a privately-owned car park behind an office block on Kings Road. Over the years televisions, black bags and mattresses have been dumped here - on the edge of a residential street in Redlands. After I raised the issue numerous times with RBC Streetcare the landlord installed gates to the car park - sadly these were open when I passed today. I have written to officers requesting that they get the landlord ...
Sat 24th
18:38
Strange rumblings among the general public in relation to Liberal Democrats and Nick Clegg
Today's ICM poll has been released with much fanfare from the Guardian, probably because it has Labour back in the lead ahead of the Conservatives. Probably quite predictably, it has the Lib Dems down from their recent relative high of 17% to a more modest 14%. The surprise in that is that the survey was conducted immediately following the Liberal Democrat Conference when for one weekend, all the country's TV sets were displaying news 24/7 about the party. The almost inevitable Conference-boost simply has not materialised for the party. One theory I've heard is that the Conference theme of 'Labour-bashing' ...
I am quoted in today's Courier indicating my concerns that the SNP government is trying to bulldoze Dundee's two universities into a merger and there are significant detrimental implications from such a merger in terms of course availability and staffing. It would indeed be a sad day if the number of universities in the city dropped to one. Both our universities are dynamic institutions but their focus is rightly different and they complement one another. I would add that not only would a merger of Dundee's two universities would be bad news for the city, I am asking exactly where ...
Most people who live in the Queen Edith's area - the part of Cambridge between Hills and Cherry Hinton Roads and Wort's Causeway - would think so. They are represented by three city councillors (including yours truly), and we pay our council tax and business rates to Cambridge City Council. Alone amongst the fourteen wards of the City of Cambridge, we are assigned to the South Cambridgeshire constituency, and have a different MP from the rest of Cambridge. This makes the Cambridge constituency a very strange shape, rather like Attilathe Hun! You may have read about the shake-up of constituency ...
Graph of ICM's findings of which party/parties people wanted to be the government.
A particular amendment passed at conference has had tongues wagging in and out of the party, and depressingly it's one of those issues; you know, well-intentioned nanny-statism that has everyone except the relative few pushing it rolling their eyes. It ... Continue reading →
I've just got back from the opening of the fantastic Redacre growing project. This project has turned waste land that has been left since the mid 90s into a growing space full of allotments. The rain held off for the opening, and when the sun came out it was very pleasant for a September day in Yorkshire. So far 20 spaces have been created on the site, and plans are under-way for another 20 to be cleared in the next couple of the weeks. The opening was well attended and Sambalifax who were present played some great music to start ...
Party conferences are different when you're in government as we found out at Liverpool last year. I didn't go to Sheffield in spring but I heard from good friends that some of the demonstrators there were very aggressive and made it difficult for people with mobility problems to safely access the conference. This year at Birmingham I saw something new again – machine guns being carried by police outside the conference. This wasn't by officers patrolling the streets outside the secure zone. No, it was inside, where people had already come past 3 separate checks that the face on the ...
Were you one of the lucky 0.1% to receive a telephone call in April last year from Medway Council above City status? Did you know the council are making a THIRD bid for city status in 2012? The only reason I found out was when the Advertising Standards slapped a fine on Medway for prematurely using "City of Medway" badges on civil apparatus. As for the telephone survey only 68% of the 0.1% of us asked were in agreement of creating a City of Medway. ) What does it mean though? Well Basically Gillingham, Ranham, Chatham, Rochester and Strood ...
police car E-Cops report that there have been thefts from vehicles in Queen Edith's recently. Cars in Topcliffe Way, Beaumont Crescent and Hills Road have been broken into. The police comment: 'Items taken in some of these crimes include property that has been left on show inside the vehicle. Please make sure you do not make your vehicle a target, by removing property from within when you leave it and always lock and secure it. These offenders are usually just opportunists who will spot something left inside the car and that will be enough for them to gain entry and ...
Sat 24th
16:16
Election Expenses: 2011 (Wirral Borough Council) Claughton ward Candidate: Stephen Foulkes Agent: Ge...
Here's an index to the pages so far. From what I remember the rest are blank (other than whatever was on that part of the form) apart from a page number the agent had written on each page. The only "blank page" included is Page 5 – B (Unsolicited material to electors). However Cllr George ...
Sat 24th
15:32Election Expenses: 2011 (Wirral Borough Council) Claughton ward Candidate: Stephen Foulkes Agent: Ge...
3 WIRRAL LABOUR GROUP TO: CLAUGHTON BRANCH GROUP LEAFLET TO BE DECLARED AS NOTIONAL AMOUNT ON ELECTION EXPENSES FORM £188 Labour Group Town Hall Brighton Street Wallasey Wirral CH44 8ED 8th May 2011 18 Click on image for original. Image is currently shown at 10% of original size. You can go back to page 15. ...
Sat 24th
15:20Election Expenses: 2011 (Wirral Borough Council) Claughton ward Candidate: Stephen Foulkes Agent: Ge...
2 WIRRAL LABOUR GROUP TO: CLAUGHTON BRANCH ELECTION ADDRESS £245 Labour Group Town Hall Brighton Street Wallasey Wirral CH44 8ED 8th May 2011 Paid G. Davies 10/5/11 . 17 Click on image for original. Image is currently shown at 10% of original size. Filed under: Claughton, Election Expenses, Labour, Wirral Council Tagged: Cllr George Davies, ...
The Lib Dem delegation from Southport at this years Conference tried to arrange a photo call sadly one or two were missing. Nevertheless a group of us did assemble as arranged at the foot of the escalator just before the leader's speech as instructed by Cllr Shaw.
Forget the slap stick knock about of some of our leaders-and let us draw a veil over Ms Teather's embarrassing efforts- we in this neck of the woods were taken with the gentle humour of Southport MP John Pugh in the health discussion at conference on Wednesday. Nobody reviewing the struggle to improve the Health Bill could have ignored the contribution of Evan Harris and John paid tribute to Evan's high energy efforts before going on to remark: 'I know Evan has dim views on the Deity, but he actually does a passable imitation of an omnipresent being.' To put ...
I may not have the youngster factor of Alex White, Matt Downey and Maelo Manning (pictured above)* so the chances of me being picked upon by Huw Edwards, or Matthew Paris for a press call or less at Lib Dem Conference. After all I'm another white man, or a certain age in a suit, even though I'm an openly out one (which again ain't that unique at Lib Dem Conf). However, that doesn't mean that I didn't get a few media hits over the week. First there was my way into the ICC on Saturday I got grabbed by Winkball ...
"Stalking must be a crime", says Yvette Cooper ( link). I absolutely agree with her on that. I also agree with Jason Hunter who said that Labour had 13 years to do it. Why didn't they make it happen? Labour made up 3000 new crimes while in power. 'Impersonating a traffic warden; selling a grey squirrel; ...
No words......
Sunday saw some good news. It was announced that Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is to set up a new engine plant factory in the West Midlands, creating up to 750 jobs. This coup was delivered in no small part thanks to the Business Secretary Vince Cable plucking up the courage to intervene directly and offer JLR government money. It could even be argued that this is one of his greatest actions to date. What part did Cable play? He helped JLR secure a £10 million grant for the plant. Clearly, this was not the be all and end all of ...
[IMG: gods view] Following a complaint to the GMC that Dr Scott from the Bethesda Medical Centre, Margate, bought Jesus into the conversation during a consultation has been interpreted as "crossing the line". Exactly what that line might be is beyond me, in these days of multiculturalism, we/us have to celebrate/respect/endure all kinds of belief/culture systems, myself I believe in equality/fairness/honesty and (irrationally) Santa. I can imagine, how disconcerting it must be for a patient, to have a doctor who is able to depart from the normal brusque conversation, of the average medic, and to expand into theological areas but ...
Sat 24th
14:26Election Expenses: 2011 (Wirral Borough Council) Claughton ward Candidate: Stephen Foulkes Agent: Ge...
4 LT PRINT GROUP LT Print Group Ltd Alfred Road Wallasey Wirral CH44 7HY T: 0151 647 8006 F: 0151 666 1704 E: info@ltprintgroup.co.uk W: www.ltprintgroup.co.uk To: WIRRAL LABOUR GROUP 46 SHAMROCK ROAD CLAUGHTON CH41 0EQ Date: 04/05/2011 Account: S100 Code: 4102/HO Invoice No: 41734 Job-ref Order-no Quantity Description Price Vat 98059 GEORGE DAVIES 2,600 ...
Today I attended a consultation on the budget by my local Lib Dem party, designed for councillors and members to have their input. This was the first time I had attended any sort of event by the party, my previous involvement has just been delivering leaflets. I thought that this would be the best sort of thing for me to start with as my accountancy background might be fairly relevant. In fact this was the first time the party had run such an event as they only took over the running of the council in May as a minority administration, ...
The Oxford Times has crunched the numbers and reckons that his full title would still be Dr Evan Harris MP if the proposed boundary changes for his old Oxford West & Abingdon seat had been in force at the 2010 general election: Changes proposed in the re-drawing of England's constituency map could have meant Liberal Democrat Evan Harris holding on to Oxford West and Abingdon with the second smallest majority in the country at the last General Election. The Oxford Mail has calculated Dr Harris would have won by 25 votes under the proposed changes. Instead, Conservative Nicola Blackwood secured ...
TweetBritain and America are keen to press home the message the Arab Spring is over. Libya has been resolved. If they say it enough times, it may justify Obama's Nobel Peace Prize and may just be believed by the public. The truth is Libya is not over. Today's Guardian may not think it is news ...
As delegates start to gather for the Labour Conference in Liverpool the Independent tells us that two leading figures in the party have published a pamphlet that claims that Labour has gone backwards in Mr Miliband's first year as leader and "lacks credibility on the economy": It says: "Voters have even less idea about what Labour stands for now than a year ago, despite the election of a new leader. There is a general sense that New Labour had been abandoned, but very little idea of what this means in practice." While Mr Miliband is seen as decent and not ...
Today 'Mr Putin and current President Dmitry Medvedev backed one another to switch roles.' It is the top news story on the BBC. It is not even news for me. As a Russian, I find it very depressing to say that it feels like it really does not matter who is the president at the ...
TweetIt's been a long time, since January 2009 that Woolworths announced it's closure of stores across the UK. It could be considered one of the best examples of when the financial crisis had a tangiable effect on the working man. Stores around the country, ubiquitous for their prime positions and all manner of miscellaneous purchases ...
Fri, 16:49: Fantastic concert by Craobh Rua! (@ Northern Ireland Executive office) http://t.co/kMC3u3vh Fri, 18:55: And now we have Gerry on the uileann pipes! (@ Northern Ireland Executive office) http://t.co/G4ojoxqH Fri, 20:18: Why is bus still here, 10 mins after departure time? (@ Station Leuven w/ 3 others) http://t.co/Cz4Gnr2C Sat, 03:26: RT @UARS_Reentry: RT @NASA: #UARS Update: Re-entry expected between (03:45 GMT and 04:45 GMT). http://t.co/LH8F58Ez -- within the hour Sat, 03:56: UARS re-entry http://j.mp/ozv58Q Sat, 04:21: RT @UARS_Reentry: If #UARS has made it past this perigee (close approach) it's probably going around again, as the fantabulous @TSKelso says
Nobody would be happier than I would be if the Quartet succeeded in creating a Palestinian state by the end of 2012. That is what I have always believed in: a viable Palestinian state living in peace alongside a secure State of Israel. Given that Prime Minister Netanayahu has again said that he would like to talk unconditionally to President Abbas today, what is stopping President Abbas? So let the world facilitate negotiations to create a Palestinian state. So long as we are clear that, when it is created, this Palestinian state will be the first the world has seen ...
Liberals, of all people, should stick up for the right of people to protest in a non-violent way. Even – especially – when it's being used against us. So it's worrying to read of the denial of bail and the detention, with convicted criminals but without conviction, of one Edd Bauer. Now I don't agree with the slogan on his banner, which makes false accusations of 'treachery'. Lib Dems said during the 2010 election that in the event of a balanced Parliament we would work with the party that came first in the election, and that is what we did. ...
The Commons Public Administration Select Committee has produced a report arguing for major changes to the way Whitehall is structured. It says that if the coalition wishes to ensure the success of the 'Big Society', reform of the civil service is vital. While the 'Big Society' originates from the Conservative side of the coalition, there is no reason why the Liberal Democrats can't seize this policy opportunity. Decentralisation has been part and parcel of the liberal world view for many years. For a time, the party was committed to abolishing the DTI. When the department became BERR, then BIS, and ...
Losing a loved one is a difficult and sad burden to bear. But when that death is under suspicious circumstances abroad, the situation can be even more bewildering and traumatic. During my time as a Minister in the Foreign Office, I have met a number of families who have had a relative murdered in a foreign country. Speaking to these families, MPs and NGO's highlighted to me the need for the Foreign Office to do more to support these families in difficult times. I made a commitment to Parliament last year to review the support we offer for British nationals ...
The feature article in yesterday's G2 magazine was a piece from the Liberal Democrat conference by the music journalist Alexis Petridis. It was fascinating to read the impressions of a party conference novice. All the more so because I wasn't at Conference this time around (for reasons discussed here). A leitmotif of Petridis' piece is ...
Next weekend (1 October) the Reading Room at Garston is hosting an event to celebrate its 150th anniversary. Built as a venue for lectures and reading, the Reading Room became well known as the venue for the preliminary hearing in the trial of Florence Maybrick. She was accused of poisoning her husband Janes in 1889. The building will be open for visitors on Saturday 1 October from 10 to 4. The event includes an exhibition, a craft sale and a victorian tea room selling refreshments (not sure if at Victorian prices!) It costs 50p to get in (although accompanied children ...
Sat 24th
11:00
The one where Nick Robinson was turned away by security: A 2011 Birmingham Lib Dem Conference Review
I've been away for a week in Birmingham at the annual autumn Liberal Democrat party conference. Having not had a foreign holiday this year (for the first time since 2004), this was a welcome opportunity to stretch the legs even if the distance to the middle of the country didn't match that of my furthest trip away to Thailand back in 2008. Unlike last year, I decided to keep my laptop at home this time and to blog about it on my return. With it being my 35th party conference over the past 9 years (if my memory serves me ...
Following the welcome announcement that First Capital Connect's rail franchise is to be terminated 18 months early, local Liberal Democrats Sandy Walkington and Chris White are going to be meeting railways minister Norman Baker to air their concerns over the current failings in the service. "We have just returned from the Liberal Democrat conference in Birmingham which allowed us to meet up with party colleagues from Bedford to Brighton along the length of the Thameslink route," Chris White said. "The story is the same everywhere - huge frustration with the quality of service and even more with the derisory compensation ...
Full document can be found here (Source and credit to @RaheemJKassam)
Crikey.
For those interested in Jazz here are three of the numbers the band played at the Lib Dem Glee Club on Tuesday evening.A good still:Photo Jas Sansi
West Hill Against Communal Bins – or WHAC as the acronym has it – has re-assembled and fears that another fight with Hastings Borough Council is on the cards. Back in April 2009, WHAC won a famous victory for People Power when the then Conservative-run Council decided that it was not going to introduce communal ...
As I mentioned when blogging Ming Campbell's speech from Liberal Democrat conference, the motion in favour of Lords reform was passed overwhelmingly. That in itself was not a surprise, but that does not mean actually securing Lords reform will be easy. Two immediate ways you can support the campaign for House of Lords reform are: by signing up to the Facebook page Liberal Democrats for Lords Reform, and by taking part in the official Parliamentary consultation (it only takes a few minutes). I gave the final speech in the conference debate, which you can watch here:
We've been wanting a bit of good polling news for a while now - and we have it from this month's Guardian/ICM poll. Our poll rating of 14% would be in the ball park of what we would expect in opposition, let alone in Government at this sort of stage in a parliament. In July 2001, ICM had us at exactly the same figure at a time when we weren't in Government grappling with some serious issues. There's obviously a lot more to be done to get us back to where we were in the General Election, but we're in ...
Sat 24th
09:23Election Expenses: 2011 (Wirral Borough Council) Claughton ward Candidate: Stephen Foulkes Agent: Ge...
1 No 6185 SS RADIO ......The sound people est 1987 TV & Audio Repair Centre P.A. Systems – Sales – Hire – Service – Installations W.B. Douglass & D.W. Douglass 65 Mill Lane, Wallasey, Wirral CH44 5UB T: 0151-638 6910 E: ss_radio@yahoo.co.uk To Gorge Davies Date 5/5/2011 Goods HIRE OF. CAR P/A SYSTEM FOR 5th ...
There is only one scheduled meeting at Blyth Town Council next week The Events Committee meets on Thursday 29th September, 6pm at Ebor House From events (excuse the pun ) this promises to be fun!
I write this as I am about to head off to London to watch Arsenal play Bolton in what has become a six pointer at the bottom of the table. I genuinely didn't expect either club to be doing so ... Continue reading →
Hands up if you know where the title comes from. It will help me know the age of my readers! In April 2009, Durham County Council gained all the former district council allotment sites. It also inherited a wide range of tenancy agreements and different levels of resources provided to allotment inspection and maintenance. Now the county wants to ensure that all tenants, wherever they are in the county, are subject to the same rules and enforcement procedures. That's why they are now consulting on a revised DCC letting policy which they hope to bring in from April 2012. This ...
A full public consultation will start during October for a new Controlled Parking Zone (CPZ) around Grove Vale and documents will be distributed to al 1,159 homes and businesses. I've asked for the consultation to be amended so that respondents have to give a name and address to reduce the chances of the survey be thrown by any one tempted to try submitting dodgy replies. It will also now include an option for the zone to only operate 10-noon Mon-Fri. I had asked or 11-noon but 2 hours would be better than 10 hours! The consultation will start in October ...
This is a fantastic speech (below on YouTube) from Sir Menzies Campbell. He said: I don't believe that any Liberal Democrat peer in the House of Lords could live with himself or herself if they do anything other than fully support the principle of (a) wholly or mainly elected (House of Lords) He goes on to say: Liberal Democrats expect their peers in the House of Lords to do their duty. Lord Steel – that means you!
The Scottish Liberal Democrat conference is coming up in the next couple of weeks and having spoken at it in previous years I am unable to attend on this, the first with Willie Rennie at the helm. However I spent some time this weekend contemplating if any of the Laws of Marketing that I use in my day job could be applied to the Scottish Lib Dems. I recognise in doing this I may be burnt at the stake by some of my more open-toed Liberal friends, but feel free to discard whichever of the Laws you feel are unapplicable. ...
I spent Wednesday afternoon with my mother, something that I haven't done for an awfully long time - almost certainly far too long. And no, she's perfectly well, her faculties are still in fine working order, and she's no crazier than she's ever been (in truth, she's probably one of the sanest people I know). It was fun. We drank tea, put the world to rights (she's not a huge fan of Nick Clegg, I must note) and talked about family stuff. I got fed at regular intervals and agreed that we should do this more often - we're not ...
[IMG: nick clegg voting] [IMG: Creative Commons License] photo credit: Liberal Democrats I couldn't resist indulging in this. I saw it via Stephen Tall on LibDemVoice, but it's been covered all over the shop. Paul Richards has a post on LabourList entitled 'A snivelling, venal, ruthless social climber'. It's a must read. He says he reckons "that Clegg is on a promise with Cameron – either a peerage or ministerial office in a Tory majority government, which means he can jettison both the people in Sheffield he supposedly represents, and the political party that elected him leader." There is a ...
Having taken up a number of concerns from residents about the state of the road surfaces on the roads in Pentland, I was pleased to be advised recently by the City Engineer of a proposed surfacing programme planned for early next year : "It is proposed to apply a proprietary thin surfacing treatment to Pentland Crescent, Loganlee Terrace and Colinton Place in March of 2012. For your information it usually takes less than a day per street to apply this treatment with road marking works to follow."
I've woken up and am following the re-entry of the UARS satellite via the wonders of the internet. On this channel I can see it over the Pacific Ocean, in the vicinity of New Zealand; this picture shows its last couple of orbits - it's not completely clear at first, but basically UARS will end by crossing the Pacific and passing over Canada and the Atlantic Ocean; probably won't get as far as Africa. (Actually this one is better.) And of course one can follow @UARS_Reentry and #UARS on Twitter for live reactions. The internet: where we can all share ...
