David Cornwell, better known by his pen name of John Le Carré, died in Cornwall on Saturday. After working in intelligence himself, he became the acknowledged master of spy fiction. The early fame he found with The Spy Who Came in From the Cold was amplified in the 70s and 80s through the BBC adaptions of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and Smiley's People, which starred Alec Guinness as George Smiley. As Sarah Lyall says in her New York Times obituary: Before Mr. le Carré published his bestselling 1963 novel "The Spy Who Came in From the Cold," which Graham Greene ...
Sun 13th
17:49
Inquiry into the Performance of the Opinion Polls at the 2019 Australian Federal Election
The post-mortem into the performance of the polls at the 2019 Australian federal election was recently published.
Southwell Minster is a cathedral and one of my very favourite ones. It has been a cathedral since the Diocese of Southwell, covering Nottinghamshire and part of South Yorkshire, was carved out of Lincoln in 1884. But it is still called a minster, not a cathedral. It has never bothered anyone in York that the second most important cathedral in the country is always called York Minster, but in Nottinghamshire they worry about such things. In 2005 the diocese was rechristened the Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham and now it wants to rebrand Southwell Minster. On Monday an online survey ...
This is a survey of the 90 women and one man who have been married at any time to those who were elected or otherwise became President or Vice-President of the United States (an update from my previous post on this topic in 2007). I'm aware that this is a heteronormative approach; it is determined really by the available records (which are themselves patchy in places). Many of those concerned will have had relationships with people to whom they were not married; in most cases, history does not record their biographical details. I would have very much liked to include ...
Sun 13th
14:54
Covid Watch: Coronavirus testing in Shropshire - no decision on Ludlow testing centre yet
We have been clarifying current Covid-19 testing arrangements for those of us that live in the south west of the county. In short, you need to go to Shrewsbury to get a test or request a postal test. Shropshire Council has been scanning the south of the county for a new testing site. No suitable site has been found in the south east area in and around Bridgnorth. Attention has turned to the Ludlow area and sites are being assessed. A testing centre in the south west, especially here in Ludlow with its good transport links, would be welcome but ...
Richard Kemp calls on Liverpool to move away from the mayor and cabinet system, which "essentially concentrates power into the hands of one person who chooses the Cabinet and then chucks out those that disagree". "Because criminalising drugs does not really prevent drug use, decriminalising does not really increase it. Portugal, which decriminalised the personal possession of all drugs in 2001 in response to high illicit drug use, has much lower rates of drug use than the European average." Scott Atkins and Clayton Mosher on the global movement towards decriminalisation of drugs. A classical education was never just for the ...
This is the justLiberals recommended reading list, sourced from articles shared internally and on our subreddit. If you think something should be on the next list, share it with the community! In this edition: The Armenia and Azerbaijan war, explainedThe Women's WarYou have misunderstood the threat to liberal democracyThese are not necessarily by Liberals, but we believe these are great additions to a Liberal's reading list - and we hope they're a nice addition to your Sunday. Enjoy!
The events of the past 10 days have brought into questions two key issues in the minds of many Liverpool residents. How should Liverpool be run and who should run it. My answer to the second question is, of course, ... Continue reading →
And so it begins. First, the UK Government lets it be known that they will be deploying 'gunboats' against EU fishermen, and now Boris Johnson has advised supermarkets to go on a war footing by stocking food. Surely, rationing is the next step. The paper says that in anticipation of shortages prompted by a no-deal, ministers have told supermarkets to start stockpiling goods: "There was a conversation a week ago when ministers said prepare for no-deal. This weekend the message is that it's no-deal," a senior consultant to one of the big supermarkets told the paper. The consultant added: "Supermarkets ...
European and British flags. I hate 13th December. I really, really do. On this day in 1984, my Grandma died, way too soon, at the age of 64. I still miss her. And last year, in the early hours, any hope of avoiding Brexit evaporated as Boris Johnson got a majority that could have enabled him to govern with more wisdom and flexibility from the constraints of the reckless extremes of his party. He chose not to take that chance. On top of it all, we lost Jo. I'm still not over that. She remains one of the most exceptionally ...
Sat, 12:56: Great thread. https://t.co/JA7jfj6bzY Sat, 13:02: RT @bbcdoctorwho: A very happy birthday to Sarah Sutton who played the Doctor's calm, collected and scientific friend, Nyssa of Traken! 🧪 h... Sat, 13:18: RT @geoffkeene: How not to ask for a job. https://t.co/c3egJVPmon Sat, 14:48: EULOGY for ANDREW MOLLISON [2020] EW Misc 28 (CC) (18 November 2020) https://t.co/7yXWUMXBLg I have never heard of any of these prople, but this is lovely. Sat, 15:15: Amadeus https://t.co/NxYdx91EpG Sat, 15:23: Henry V, by William Shakespeare The parallels between Henry V of the play and the real-life Earl of Essex are pretty clear: playboy youths ...
It's a year today since Munira Wilson was elected as MP for Twickenham. Since then, she has held one of the most stressful roles, as Health Spokesperson, holding the Government to account for its often reckless and chaotic handling of the Coronavirus pandemic. Like all other MPs, though, she will have a lot of casework from people who have had the financial rug pulled from under them – owners of small businesses whose activities have been curtailed or stopped altogether during the pandemic. People who run events companies, creative industry freelancers such as make-up artists are just some examples of ...
Sun 13th
09:40It's time to join up the dots on transport in Ludlow and make it work now and for the future
When I walk through the centre of Ludlow, I get tackled on all manner of issues but mostly transport. Road closures. Parking. Buses. These problems are not just confined to the town centre. We live in a town that was not designed for current levels of car ownership. We need to take concerted action to ease the problems. That's not the only problem we must tackle. Ludlow is a green thinking town. The town council has declared a climate emergency as has Shropshire Council and much of the country. The UN General Secretary yesterday called on all the countries of ...
A few weeks ago BBC4 screened a film on the life of Gerry Rafferty. It included this alongside the better known Baker Street and Stuck in the Middle With You. Star was released as a single in 1973 and reached no. 25 in the UK singles chart. As No Words, No Song points out: the song features a number of unexpected elements for a record made in the midst of the glam rock era — including a mournful harmonica, a kazoo, some woodblocks and an upright piano sounding like something you used to find pushed against a back wall in ...
This year's Hanukkah started on Thursday and goes on until next Friday. Celebrations will be very different this year, as families can't be together as they would normally. Here's Ed Davey's message for all celebrating: I'd like to wish a Happy Hanukkah to everyone celebrating today, from all the Liberal Democrat family. Chag Sameach pic.twitter.com/Kf4bpZME0V — Ed Davey MP [IMG: 🔶] [IMG: 🇪🇺] (@EdwardJDavey) December 10, 2020
broadcast anniversaries 13 December 1975: broadcast of fourth episode of The Android Invasion - last appearance of Ian Marter as Harry and John Levene as Benton The Doctor and Sarah successfully thwart the Kraals. Hooray! 13 December 1980: broadcast of fourth episode of State of Decay. The Doctor kills the Great Vampire with a rocket through his heart and he, K9, Adric and Romana escape. Hooray!
Further update - for Sunday 13th December from Councillor Fraser Macpherson (West End) and Councillor Craig Duncan (Broughty Ferry) : BUSINESS GRANTS Businesses across Scotland will benefit from a new £185 million package of support including: • Tourism including self-catering - £60 million • Hospitality - £30 million • Wedding venues and supply chain including photographers - £15 million • Mobile close contact services, such as hairdressers - £15 million • Taxi Drivers - £19 million • Travel agents - £5 million • Coach companies and tour operators - £6 million • Visitor attractions - £1.5 million More detail on ...
