Or has the world gone slightly bonkers! Don't get me wrong, I'm fully supportive of the proposed new Care Home which gained planning permission this afternoon. It's to be based on the site of the former Victoria Club at the junction of Delves Lane and Gloucester Road, and will provide an impressive building and up to 100 jobs, as well as modern facilities for Consett's ageing population, amongst whom I shall all too rapidly be numbered. What produced a wry comment from me, however, was the new orthodoxy which requires the proprietors of this urban plot to include a landscaping ...
On Saturday, Gateshead Lib Dems held their Christmas dinner at the Stone Trough in Low Fell. A good time had by all. Sadly for Cllr Peter Maughan, he was unable to attend so I was forced to have 2 dinners! Waste not, want not.
Last Tuesday, Sunniside History Society held its Christmas buffet. I have attended most of the society's meetings this year and was closely involved with the Fugar/Washingwell Hidden History project. So there was plenty to celebrate last week. Alas, though I won one of the raffle prizes, it was a box of Liquorice Allsorts, which I hate! I gave them to David.
Embed from Getty Images Lichfield is on my long list of Places I Must Visit Again One Day.
[IMG: orwell-catalonia] Homage to Catalonia, George Orwell This is the seventh book plucked from my #40booksby40 list. I have a bit of a love-hate thing for The Other Mr Blair. Animal Farm was one of my GCSE English Lit set texts (along with Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea), which simultaneously meant I studied it cover-to-cover while ensuring I'd never want to read it ever again. I also tried to read 1984 as a 13 year-old, in a silly teenage attempt to impress my English teacher, which, again, killed my enjoyment. Orwell's inclusion on my list is, therefore, partly ...
Embed from Getty Images There's a story in today's Guardian suggesting that athletes in individual events are more prone to experiencing depressive symptoms than are athletes in team events. It quotes the German psychologist Professor Jürgen Beckmann: "The real problem is with young athletes. Those who receive social support from parents and peers experience much less stress than those who don't. That's especially important during adolescence. "We found that up to 20% of young athletes do have a problem with higher depression scores. In the general population its range is between 9% and 12%. "We are not diagnosing them as ...
A consultation has just opened on new parts of the Yate spur cycle path. South Glos Council are looking for your views on them providing a shared use cycle/pedestrian path along the western side of Westerleigh Road between the mini-roundabout and the Common and a refuge on the Nibley Lane arm of the Nibley Lane/Westerleigh Road junction. Depending on the feedback, construction of both is expected to take place next summer. We have stressed that the Nibley Lane junction has additional problems - it's not an easy junction at the best of times - and that nearby residents will need ...
Embed from Getty Images The ancient Romans would have said that they were a nation of animal lovers. They doted on their household pets. Roman literature contains stories of dogs who were not just watchdogs but also much loved companions, and of pet starlings who were taught to talk by their adoring owners. But these same devoted pet owners would visit the arena, where they would watch other animals - leopards, giraffes, antelopes, elephants - slaughtered for sport. Religious festivals, such as the mid-winter festival of Saturnalia, also involved the slaughter of animals, as sacrifices to the gods. The Romans ...
It's that time of year again, the annual "Which day are the bins emptied?" time. Christmas week ( starting Monday 26th ) Collection delayed by two days, so a normal Tuesday collection will be on Thursday 29th This week is a recycling week ( ie Blue Bin ) New Year week ( starting Monday 2nd January ) Collection delayed by one day, so a normal Tuesday collection will be on on Wednesday 4th This week is a general waste week ( ie Green Bin ) Any questions, please contact me ...
Embed from Getty Images This year's revelations about Amazon and Sports Direct's business practices have shown that even though we are in the year 2016 some companies still behave as if we were still in the Victorian age. As the Labour party drifts into an ocean of hard left anti-business irrelevance we in the Liberal Democrats have an opportunity to speak up for a better way forward. In the area of low pay, many companies especially in the retail sector have taken advantage of the introduction of the living wage to chip away at other benefits. Take the example of ...
[IMG: peersinrichmond] If you read the Evening Standard the day before the Richmond Park by-election, you might have noticed this wonderful comment on the participation of Liberal Democrat peers in the campaign, which I suspect came from someone in Zac Goldsmith's team who was overwhelmed by how many Liberal Democrat activists were on the streets. One hundred Lib Dem peers were sent to knock on doors. Only a handful of the ill and very old were spared by-election duties - in echoes of James Graham's play This House which recounts how MPs close to death were dragged to the Commons ...
What do you mean by air pollution? Air pollution is the introduction of particulates, biological molecules, and many harmful substances into our atmosphere, causing diseases, allergies, death to humans, damage to other living organisms such as animals and food crops, or the natural or built environment. You can read the government definition of air quality [...]
Embed from Getty Images Guy Verhofstadt is a hero in our unheroic age. Whilst confusion and fear over Brexit stalk the lives of many, Theresa May hides behind the camouflage of providing "no running commentary" - helpful cover for a government with no plan and no idea - and European Commission chief negotiator Michel Barnier understandably asserts that he cannot negotiate a British exit from the EU until Britain confirms it actually wants to exit the EU. Into this vacuum steps Guy Verhofstadt, the Belgian MEP and former prime minister who heads the Liberal group in the European Parliament. Relatively ...
Following on from the Sleaford by-election, in which Labour came fourth, Labour MP for Croydon North Steve Reed said: "Labour risks becoming the party of the 0% if we manage to upset both Remainers and Leavers by equivocating our position." It was a pithy statement I think will be remembered for years to come. For it perfectly summaries Labour's current predicament, caught in the middle of the Brexit debate as they are. Yet it is clear that this mode of thought is not on the leadership's radar whatsoever. Diane Abbott said in an interview this weekend that regarding Labour's poll ...
A brief word on trousergate. I've noticed 2 things coming up over and over again. That the obsession is a tad misogynistic and also a new phenomenon. But I'm not sure. It strikes me that we have a rich tradition of commenting on our leaders attire - and the gender of said leader is neither here nor there... PS. Is 'what are they wearing" the new "good day to bury bad news"
2016 has been the year to celebrate the bicentenary of the completion of the Leeds Liverpool Canal. In Sefton's East Parishes (Aintree Village, Melling, Maghull & Lydiate) we had a event on 18th June. £9500 was raised by 3 of the 4 local parish councils (Melling had their own separate event), Sefton Council, the pride of Sefton Charity and the Rent-a-Space company to fund the celebrations. Sadly, as we all know, the big day saw a massive rain storm in the afternoon but the celebrations went on anyway and a good time was had by all. Here are a few ...
One of the perils of blogging at this busy time of year is you think of a great blog post and then before you get the chance to write it up, the national press nip in first. So when Diane Abbott answered a straight question with a straight answer yesterday - and said Corbyn had 12 months to close the gap in the polls before questions about lis leadership should be asked - I thought immediately there's a good blog there. Especially when another friend of Corbyn, Ken , followed up with a similar statement an hour later. Sadly, the ...
Embed from Getty Images Headline news last week was Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson's speech in Rome where he criticised Saudi Arabia for 'puppeteering and playing proxy wars', by implication against Iran, and promoting sectarian extremism for political ends across the Middle East. He was immediately slapped down by PM May, who had seemingly instructed him to get even closer to the Saudis for trade purposes in the wake of Brexit. Emphasising he had the war in Yemen in mind, as well as Syria, Boris then made a further speech in Bahrain on 10th December about the Saudi bombing of civilians ...
County Councillor Sandy Walkington was delighted to join the brilliantly named 'Sufferjettes' in their protest this morning at St Albans City Station. Many of those protesting are female commuters making the particular point that train delays and cancellations play expensive havoc with childcare arrangements. They just want the service they are paying for. Sandy helped [...]
Policymakers in the UK are used to looking enviously at the way Scandinavian governments manage to deliver popular and successful public services.
To Norman Lamb: Ways to Actually Help Autistic People | Sci-Ence! Justice Leak! I really hope @normanlamb reads this Poll suggests public will not accept a Brexit that leaves them worse off | Politics | The Guardian This, & stories like it, have led to some excellent sarcasm on Twitter "We voted to jump out of the window, not to hit the ground!" being my favourite (@cavalorn) Twitter Restores White Supremacist Leader Richard Spencer's Account, and Verifies Him - Little Green Footballs RT @Green_Footballs: It's true. Today Twitter restored the suspended account of one of the worst white supremacists in ...
Mon 12th
09:50
If you thought our stance on tuition fees was controversial... - the case for Lifetime Education
Embed from Getty Images Whether you are for or against our actions on tuition fees, we can't pretend it's not still an open wound for us. It's an elephant in the room when talking to non-Lib Dems and when discussed between Lib Dems it leads to a row. The irony is that this all happened whilst higher and further education are in their death throes. The current model of a child attending school, then choosing whether to enter the workforce until retirement at that point or to take a few years of higher education first, then never attending education for ...
It's Arts Fresco 2009 and The Ant Orkezdra is marching along Adam and Eve Street.
INNOVATION! The Twelfth Annual University of Dundee Culture Day This Wednesday - 14th December 2016Baxter Room 1.36, Tower Building, University of Dundee1.30pm - 5pm An entertaining and enlightening afternoon of free talks and presentations on the theme of Innovation, featuring speakers from across the University. The full programme is below. Feel free to come to as much or as little of the programme as you like but to help us organise refreshments please book a place by clicking here. Programme : 1.30 Introduction 1.40 Keith Williams (English, School of Humanities)H G Wells@150: Seeing the Future (but also How the Future ...
Inequality Is Killing The American Dream Would be interested to see this methodology applied elsewhere. (tags: uspolitics economics ) How to Force Cortana to Use Chrome & Google in Windows 10 Avoiding the tyranny of Edge and Bing. (tags: Internet computers microsoft ) Theresa May's bunker: only the meekest courtiers are allowed in Court politics and delusion. (tags: brexit ukpolitics ) Wear and Lathing in Northfields: Why the Piccadilly is Struggling Wrong kind of leaf-fall. (tags: travel london )
For some time during the coalition government, Ken Clarke was known as the sixth Liberal Democrat cabinet minister. That was most probably a tad unfair on him, but when reading his comments on Labour's Andy Burnham today, I can understand how he acquired the tag. Politics Home reports that Mr. Clarke has labelled Andy Burnham's recent stance on immigration as sounding like a "paler version" of Nigel Farage. Andy Burnham has attacked Labour's support for free movement in the Commons last week, saying it is "inherently discriminatory" and "undermining the cohesion" of the UK. The former Labour leadership contender argued ...
(Before we start, a note: I just googled to check a fact about this, and on the first page of the Google results for "Wonderful Christmastime" is a piece on Salon with the same title as this, published two hours ... Continue reading →
