Wed 29th
21:44
Leicester family feed birds, swearing neighbour waves axe around and shouts 'I'm a parrot'
The Leicester Mercury wins Headline of the Day. As is often the case, the story below the funny headline is rather sad.
I like Bourbon Creams. I'd not baked since school. In 2015 someone sent me a recipe for home-made bourbons. I don't know where they found it, but it worked for me. I've baked them four times, and not only were none of them disasters, I thought they all tasted great (presentation could be better). If you want to try them, here is the recipe for your baking / eating pleasure. Alex and the Giant Bourbons - Me at a Tower Hamlets Stand Together Community Feast in 2017, holding a tray of my bourbon creams arranged in a starburst with a ...
Responding to news that over a thousand applications to the Windrush Compensation Scheme are still yet to be considered by the Home Office, Liberal Democrat Home Affairs spokesperson Christine Jardine said: "The treatment of the Windrush Generation by the Home Office has been and continues to be absolutely appalling. Those awaiting a decision, in some cases for over a year, have been left in anxious limbo at a time when the Government should be bending over backwards to support applicants."It is abundantly clear that the Home Office is out of its depth. The Windrush Compensation Scheme should be taken out ...
Following the Government's response to the Annual inspection of 'Adults at Risk in Immigration Detention' (2018-19), which the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration described as "disappointing", Liberal Democrat Home Affairs Spokesperson Christine Jardine said:"Locking people up for months on end - without giving them any idea how long they'll be detained - is clearly inhumane. It's also expensive and unnecessary."The Conservative Government's refusal to act with urgency on vulnerable people in immigration detention is unacceptable. It is shameful that Ministers took nine months to publish and respond to the independent inspector's report, and that they refused to accept ...
Everyone can recall the bitter divisions in our society last year. Families were split about Brexit; friends chose which friends to talk to, there was rage and blame ringing across the airwaves and on social media, while In the House of Commons, the MPs tried and tried again without success to reach agreement on whether, when or how to leave the EU. But this spring the bitterness is gone. That isn't because of general weary resignation that Brexit is settled. It's because in facing the pandemic disease to which we are all susceptible millions of us are pulling together in ...
March 2006 was a pretty memorable month for me. I had one of the most fun science fiction convention experiences I can remember at P-Con in Dublin, where I moderated four panels, one of which was interrupted by the BBC calling me for a statement on the death of Slobodan Milošević. My brains were eaten by I went on from Dublin (having spoken at a panel with Garret Fitzgerald) to Cyprus, where I presented the first Crisis Group report on the situation there at a packed event in the Ledra Palace Hotel on the Green Line. This was more significant ...
Weekly recycling collections to resume in South Gloucestershire on 13 May Weekly recycling collections will resume across South Gloucestershire from Wednesday 13 May after being temporarily changed to keep essential collections running during the COVID-19 outbreak.
The cupboards that I have been clearing out have been a rich source of memories. I found a large biscuit tin full of marbles. Some of the contents go back to my childhood and my sons added to them when they were small. Children don't play with marbles these days. However, I don't do "Things were better in my days". Things were different, but largely worse for children when I grew up. Children were abused, legally, by the very people who should have been protecting them. School was horrible. From the age of six we sat all day at our ...
Between March 17th and 20th, using my former scientist's PhD knowledge, I started making forecasts, with graphs, of when the COVID-19 would end for the main European countries and the UK. The shot was a long one, and the forecasts sent in a private email to colleagues. At the time the government announced a minimum '12 weeks' epidemic. Hence until at least June 17, with statements that it may last over six months to 2021. With data consolidating from March 30, I took the risk to make my previsions public on LINKEDIN forecasting the end of the UK epidemic ...
Campaign manager Lynton Crosby's politics, and indeed his choices of messages and of clients, are not exactly to my taste. But his advice...
OK, so my technique when asked to write a big piece (like my newly published report on Bailout Policy for the Coronavirus Crisis) is to engage in a constant, mind-wearying conversation with myself over email and sometimes with Twitter on the back of all the stuff I read that may have some tangential relationship withContinue reading "Some of the bailout reading I compiled"
NEW freephone number for queries about S Glos Council and how COVID is affecting is services. S Glos say "South Gloucestershire Council has launched a new Freephone number 0800 953 7778 for queries about the council's Covid-19 response. Calls will be answered by trained contact centre staff, who will be able to give you information about changes to services and direct you to the right place for help.This line is only for Covid-19-related queries. For all other enquiries, please continue to use the main contact centre number: 01454 868009.The line is likely to be very busy so please do check ...
A news release from the Liberal Democrats brings news of another cross-party push, this time to ensure better scrutiny of the government: Representatives from five of the nine parties represented in the House of Commons have joined the Liberal Democrats in calling for steps be taken to guarantee "smaller parties are heard during this time of crisis." Citing the need for a "plurality of voices" to ensure robust scrutiny of the Government's handling of the crisis, representatives from the Liberal Democrats, Plaid Cymru, Green Party, Alliance and SDLP are calling for the creation of a Coronavirus Select Committee, to include ...
The election of Kier Starmer as leader of the Labour Party, and therefore the leader of Her Majesty's Opposition, presents a challenge for us as Liberal Democrats. On the one hand, it's good news for our democracy that there's now a serious Leader of the opposition who will be asking probing questions of this terrible Conservative government. On the other hand, it presents a threat to us. A Starmer-led Labour Party will be fishing in the same pond of voters that we hope to seek support from. Some who had fled Corbyn's Labour may now return to them. Our chances ...
Tue, 12:56: End of a good thread. https://t.co/9h9BkA3sUf Tue, 15:31: RT @Reuters: In Brussels, families visited care home residents for the first time in weeks on a raised platform crane, which is normally us... Tue, 16:05: Coronavirus Crisis Engulfs Russia https://t.co/FjMPE7TAFr Grim all round. Tue, 17:11: Boris Johnson and the Optimism Delusion https://t.co/gGPeoXDemV One of the realities of the past few weeks, however... https://t.co/cH1qG8hC1f Tue, 18:57: #LockdowninOudHeverlee 7: The Arboretum and the art of Ad Wouters https://t.co/rqOnAsvFae Support your local sculptor! Tue, 20:48: 24 Hours at the Epicenter of the Coronavirus Pandemic https://t.co/S8qI8kFdvj Brilliant long read about New York. Wed, ...
Liverpool Exchange Station 1977, class 502 EMU's in platform 5, for Ormskirk, & platform 7, for Southport This is the second of my postings using the historic photos of Anthony Graham, who has given me permission to showcase them. The first posting concentrated on Maghull Station, this time I'm looking back at Liverpool's former Exchange Station which was lost in the late 1970's Liverpool Exchange No 1 Signal Box in June 1976 Liverpool Exchange No 2 Signal Box in April 1977 Here's a detailed account of No.2 Signal Box from Anthony:- 'Opened as Liverpool Exchange "A" box, with a temporary ...
The Guardian reports on concerns by the victims' commissioner that refuges providing sanctuary to victims of domestic violence are running out of space, with many full or effectively closed amid an "epidemic inside this pandemic": A "perfect storm" of problems is in danger of overwhelming support services for those trying to escape violent and abusive partners, Dame Vera Baird QC warned members of the House of Commons justice select committee. She also said on Tuesday there was evidence of a newer trend, of older children - principally teenagers - attacking their parents amid frustration about being unable to go outside. ...
Well, that's what we are told at the daily press conference, but is it true? It's becoming evident that the 2-metre social distancing rule is exceedingly problematic if it's to be continued once businesses re-open, particularly for small cafes, restaurants and shops which are too small to implement it and will cease to be viable. So, the evidence to support it must be very strong, mustn't it? I have not been able to find that evidence anywhere, and significantly the WHO has settled on a much more pragmatic, achievable and sustainable one-metre distance. I made a few more discreet enquiries ...
2 big stories Next steps in addressing the coronavirus crisis? Tracing, an app and?... The Guardian provides an explanation of how the Government plans to step up its battle to quell the virus. But do you trust the Government with data relating to where you've gone and who you've met? Or is the need to bring this to an end enough to overcome your concerns? British Airways is making 12,000 staff redundant, a sign of how bad things are likely to get for the airline industry. The share price is down by more than two-thirds, compared to the FTSE 100 ...
The Dundee.com website is continually updating its "Dundee Eats Buy Local" list where residents can find an up to date list of local businesses that are delivering food or open for collections. The list can be accessed at www.dundee.com/DundeeEats_BuyLocal
