This is glorious - and final proof that the 1950s did not take place in black and white. The British Film Institute site explains: One of the most memorable - and fondly remembered - of all British Transport Films was this promotional paean to the joys of holidaying in Blackpool. Unlike the vast majority of BTF's travelogues, commentary is kept to a minimum, with just a brief scene-setting opening and a slightly longer interlude to mark the early afternoon siesta. The film derives its reputation and appeal, from the two wordless passages that constitute a masterclass by editor Ralph Sheldon ...
From Hold the Front Page (HTFP): The Electoral Commission has called for "real change" on misleading party political leaflets which resemble local newspapers. The Commission has said the practice was among the major concerns of the public in its report into campaigning ahead of last year's general election. Over the course of the campaign, HTFP highlighted a series of instance of political parties bringing out political pamphlets which sought to mimic established local titles. The industry subsequently united against the practice, with News Media Association chairman David Dinsmore calling on all political parties to put an immediate end to it.Such ...
What you need to know about coronavirus and food It is very unlikely that you can catch coronavirus (COVID-19) from food.Cooking thoroughly will kill the virus.COVID-19 is a respiratory illness. It is not known to be transmitted by exposure to food or food packaging.Everyone should wash their hands regularly with soap and water, for at least 20 seconds, to reduce the risk of illness.It is especially important to wash hands before handling food or eating. Food hygiene when shopping The risk of coronavirus (COVID-19) cross-contamination to food and food packaging is very low. Food businesses must ensure that they have ...
We need to talk about #COVID-19 But we need to speak accurately about the risk from #COVID-19, based on scientific data and latest official health advice. pic.twitter.com/TKetPJEPvT — Rabina Khan [IMG: 🔶] (@RabinaKhan) March 12, 2020 On 11th March 2020, I delivered a speech at Tower Hamlets Council as part of my amendment to an emergency cross-party briefing to ensure that the way in which the council communicates does not marginalise people. In preparation for this Roderick Lynch - Chair of Liberal Democrat Campaign for Racial Equality - and I had a meeting about how an "infodemic" of misinformation and ...
Current The Long Song, by Andrea Levy Becoming Superman: My Journey From Poverty to Hollywood, by J. Michael Straczynski Last books finished Wiske, by Willy Vandersteen Monstress, Volume 4: The Chosen, by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda Barabas, by Willy Vandersteen Oathbringer, by Brandon Sanderson - did not finish Dragon Pearl, by Yoon Ha Lee LaGuardia, written by Nnedi Okorafor, art by Tana Ford, colours by James Devlin The First Men in the Moon, by H. G. Wells Next books The Giver, by Lois Lowry A Sacred Cause: The Inter-Congolese Dialogue 2000-2003, by P. E. Winter
For obvious reasons there are repeated calls for either a Public Enquiry or a Royal Commission to examine what has happened in terms of the Government's response to Coronavirus starting from 2016 when they chose to make little of a ... Continue reading →
Pop-up Shakespeare's Rose Theatre, York 2018 Some people believe that Shakespeare wrote King Lear in lockdown. It appears that wasn't quite true, since the play was already in production when the Globe was temporarily closed because of plague in 1606. It is more likely that it was influenced by his experiences under an earlier lockdown in 1603. Bubonic plague was endemic throughout his life, and the Privy Council tried to minimise its impact with actions that sound familiar to us today. The scale was horrendous – London, with a population of only 200,000 lost over 20,000 people to an outbreak ...
Today, as most of you reading will already know, is St George's Day. It is England's national day. Each year on this date, several things occur. One is that a certain portion of the population gets out their crosses of St George and revels in their idea of Englishness. This is sometimes benign, it is sometimes nasty, but it mostly the former. Another portion of the population, meanwhile, tries to look down its nose at the very idea of St George's Day. The fact that St George was Greek, spent his whole life in Asia Minor and never came to ...
Seldom has there been such a need for care in the way we do politics. We may be right about certain things, but the current surreal situation means that being right isn't good enough - we have to judge the mood. It is, for example, entirely legitimate to say that the entire basis on which the Conservatives won an 80-seat mandate just four months ago has been obliterated, that public spending requirements during the coronavirus outbreak have been so great that, once the crisis is over, there must be a new election. But it wouldn't go down well if we ...
In the latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts, I talk with Ben Johnson, a former Liberal Democrat councillor in Southwark with a PhD on the influenza virus from Public Health England and the University of Reading, and now working for Nature, one of the world's most famous and respected scientific journals. Feedback as every very welcome, and do share this podcast with others who you think may enjoy it. Show notes Sunder Katwala interview on coronavirus. Bicester Village train station signs. Phil Cowley on why Hong Kong reacted so quickly to coronavirus. IFS data on key worker salaries. ...
Today is the the first day of Ramadan. And because of COVID-19, it's different this year for Muslims. No family or friends to join the experience so this year it will be virtual. The meal at the end of day, the Iftar, can be shared on Zoom! Thank you to all those who are joining MPs and others for the very first #LibDemIftar. Despite it being tough to fast, some members have agreed to have a go and show solidarity with me and other Muslims. Muslims in the country and around the world will be abstaining from food and drink, ...
This commentary on our presently difficult times is utterly brilliant:- The power of books and the wonderful mind of a librarian. Click on the photo of the book shelves to enlarge for reading and then start looking at the titles from the top left hand corner and you'll soon see........
South Glos have just notified us: "The construction of the mandatory cycle lanes scheme on Rodford Way will be starting this week. Please accept my apologies for the short notice, we would usually give a lot more notice when construction is due to commence, but due to the current pandemic the operations team are making decisions on what schemes they can construct on a day to day basis, based on a lot of variables such as staff availability, material availability, weather and so on. "
The Guardian reports that Ministers are being pressed to reveal the full details of how the government missed out on four opportunities to join an EU medical supplies consortium, in the wake of a U-turn by the top civil servant in the Foreign Office over comments suggesting it was a "political decision". A number of MPs believe that the government is covering-up how it came to miss out on four rounds of procurement of personal protective equipment (PPE), ventilators and laboratory supplies launched by the EU in late February and March. They say that UK officials failed to take up ...
'It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity' (A tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens) In the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, we are in an unprecedented time. I continue to work for the NHS but I am also a member of the Sedgemoor district council. I came across doctors and nurses risking it all to deliver the best for their patients. I also see the local communities rally up to support ...
One month since lockdown started in London it's starting to get on some people's nerves. But if we are honest there are some benefits. Air pollution is well down on normal levels as industrial activity and traffic flows are now only a fraction of what we're used too. Birdsong is suddenly much more audible and [...]
Wed, 12:48: RT @BrankoMilan: Why is nobody discussing truly staggering differences in death rates between Eastern and Western Europe? In the @FT graphs... Wed, 12:56: Did anyone predict coronavirus? https://t.co/BFBWiOy9Rh And should we listen to them? Wed, 14:12: RT @ACNIWriting: Roma Tomelty 1945-2020. "I heard a thrush singing from a sally tree. Do you mind the singing we heard over the dead bishop... Wed, 14:47: RT @JulianObubo: Harry and Meghan know where their bread is buttered, and trust me, it ain't with the readers of the Mail, Mirror, Express... Wed, 16:05: A Stellar Mystery: How Could 100 Stars Just Vanish? ...
This is a special time of the year in our spiritual calendar. For Christians, it was the celebration of Easter. Jews it was Passover. For Sikh it was Vaisakhi. For Muslims it's the start of the holy month of Ramadan. For all those observing these important moments I extend my wishes. These are times for families and communities opening up and getting together and being with loved ones. Unfortunately, the reality is families are divided, empty streets, locked shops, uncertain future and empty places of worship. Internet communities/initiatives are springing up, help from community hubs, people are going out of ...
For obvious reasons there are repeated calls for either a Public Enquiry or a Royal Commission to examine what has happened in terms of the Government's response to Coronavirus, starting from 2016 when they chose to make little of a pandemic planning exercise right up to when we might consider at least the first part of the coronavirus pandemic under control. I have absolutely no doubt that there needs to be a speedy and effective review of what has happened. Mistakes have been made. Some of them have been political ones and some of them in terms of the advice ...
Ramadan Mubarak to all the Muslim Liberal Democrat members, colleagues and supporters.
Well, I'm glad you're still thanking me and not blaming me! One of the things in the Lib Dems is that there are a lot of people who don't really fit into left or right categories and are basically centrist or mostly apolitical. They tend to prevent any formal split developing, oddly enough. See
It is St George's Day... so here is a little quiz, with answers. We normally are out helping at the St George's Day event outside the Heritage Centre on St Mary's Green, but of course it is cancelled. Have a good day. For children there is a set of fun St George activities on the Yate Heritage Centre- Kids ZoneWe actually don't know much about St George but generally people agree on three things:1) Was St George... English?Turkish?Greek? 2) What did St George do for a living?PriestSoldierMerchant 3)Which century did he live in ?* 1st cen BC* 2nd Cen AD* ...
The June 2018 canal breach is still causing problems for one family – The Liverpool Echo has the article on its website – see link below the photo:- I covered the breach on this blogsite at the time – here's a link back to that posting –
On this day in 1516, the Reinheitsgebot was enforced across all of Bavaria, stating that beer must be brewed from three ingredients only – water, malt and hops. And yes, Wilhelm IV, Duke of Bavaria was a bit of a stickler for purity, but that wasn't a bad hill to die upon, was it? 2 big stories Whilst the Job Retention Scheme appears to be operating smoothly thus far – noting that payments aren't due to reach employers until next week – for the self-employed, there's no news as to when their scheme will start. And the decision to have ...
Further update - for Thursday 23rd April - from Councillor Fraser Macpherson (West End) and Councillor Craig Duncan (Broughty Ferry) : START UP BUSINESS SUPPORTStart-up businesses are to be allocated £1.25 billion by the UK Government. It includes £500 million loan scheme for high-growth firms, called the Future Fund, and £750 million of targeted support for small and medium sized businesses focusing on research and development. It will be delivered in partnership with the British Business Bank and will start in May for UK-based companies with between £125,000 and £5 million with private investors at least matching the government commitment. ...
