It's back to more serious matters in this episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts after last time's board game review – the role of money in British politics. I was delighted to have on the show Professor Justin Fisher, one of the country's leading experts on the topic and someone whose research into grassroots politics makes him a better informed expert than many on what really goes inside political parties. Feedback very welcome, and do share this podcast with others who you think may enjoy it. Show notes Jeremy Thorpe's role in unlocking the beast of national political spending.The ...
This week the Information Commissioner stepped in after 9 schools in North Ayrshire started using facial recognition technology to speed up the payment queue in the dinner hall. From The Guardian: The ICO, an independent body set up to uphold information rights in the UK, said it would be contacting North Ayrshire council about the move and urged a "less intrusive" approach where possible. An ICO spokesperson said organisations using facial recognition technology must comply with data protection law before, during and after its use, adding: "Data protection law provides additional protections for children, and organisations need to carefully consider ...
Second paragraph of third chapter:Dashing around London as fast as good horses and a carriage could take them from one famous sight to another, they visited St. Paul's, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, the British Museum, and the Royal Academy, then Windsor, Bath, Oxford, and Cambridge, where the new astronomical observatory made a great impression on John Quincy. They attended art galleries and theaters. At Westminster Abbey, John Quincy was overwhelmed with "Awe and Veneration" at the monuments to the great poets, especially the inscriptions, the quotation from Shakespeare's The Tempest, and the invocation "O rare Ben Jonson." At Drury Lane ...
I was once told I have a memory like an elephant! I didn't realise what that meant, and the friend who told me explained. She said that elephants have long memories. They remember. It is true. I do. I remember a time when governments were at least able to behave in a way we could say was responsible, in carrying out their duties, because they knew they were responsible for the delivery of services. Now we have a dereliction of duty. And appallingly stretched public services. I remember when even this government, late with everything, at least, though late, did ...
Wed 20th
17:07
Appeal begins for six homes on Castle View Terrace meadow - it's all about developer profit
In December 2020, Shropshire planners threw out an application for a terrace of six homes, none affordable, on the meadow on Castle View Terrace. The application departed so far from planning policy that it didn't even go to the planning committee. It was rejected by planning officers who said the housing is not needed and it would destroy an important green space that is much used and loved by the community. But Shropshire Homes is determined to go ahead and lodged an appeal earlier in the year. It has retained Berrys to fight the case on its behalf. The initial ...
The Liberal Democrats have demanded that the Government hold an emergency SAGE meeting to discuss surging Covid cases, and what measures may be needed to curb infections and protect the NHS and schools this winter. It comes as it emerges that Government scientists have not met to discuss Covid for weeks and cases are running at nearly 50,000 a day. Health Spokesperson, Munira Wilson MP said: Covid cases are surging and millions of vulnerable people are yet to receive their booster jabs, yet ministers are burying their heads in the sand. The Government cannot simply ignore the scientific advice and ...
"Someone was there / a moment ago"It did exist... Life erodes, slowly –lacking options to reverse, far less rebuild,despite the booster's lies – as limestone calcifies around our jointsand we find touch, once sure, now trembles;excepting avatars We are besieged by little fears, shivers of anxietysprung up like jagged dragons' teeth,sown broadly before dawn;clenched against the Other, [...]
Tue, 12:56: Brexit isn't done - and Boris Johnson can't answer the Irish Question https://t.co/HeFx9PmHri "Boris Johnson has no interest in Northern Ireland. He can win no votes there. There is scant evidence of him ever having visited the province before he achieved high office. He once c... Tue, 13:11: RT @NicholasPegg: I don't know about you, but I'm appreciating all the lectures on kindness from a government which in recent months has be... Tue, 16:05: When God was an alpha male: How the Hebrew deity evolved from predatory strongman to a friend to human frailty https://t.co/JWAgN5hd7G Good review by ...
The Guardian reports that restaurants and hotels are wrestling with "terrifying" inflation running as high as 18%, bosses have warned, as supply chain disruption and labour shortages wreak havoc in the hospitality sector. The paper says that food and drink producers have been squeezed by a combination of higher prices for raw materials, soaring wages, increased costs for transport amid the HGV driver shortage, and rising energy bills: Inflation in the UK hit hit 3.2% in August, rising from 2% in July, according to the consumer prices index measure of inflation and figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). ...
Numerous residents have contacted me about the white lining that has been painted on the newly resurfaced Blackness Avenue at its junction with Hawkhill/Perth Road. In their view - and mine - the left turn lane has been painted incorrectly and the disabled bay far too close to the junction. I contacted the City Council towards the end of last week and last Friday was advised : "I would confirm having been on site this morning that the lining works at the south end have not been completed with the left turn/straight ahead arrows still to be painted in the ...
Wed 20th
00:23
It became green everywhere in the first spring, after London ended, so that all the country looked a...
The opening chapter of After London is among the best things Richard Jefferies ever wrote. And as this video from South Downs Generations says, the book feels remarkably topical 136 years after it was published. South Downs Generations is a living history project run as a partnership between the Friends of the South Downs and four West Sussex primary schools.
