I was in Whickham this morning to help volunteers plant up the flowerbeds on Church Green. My coat is still soaked through from the experience but all the beds were planted. There should be a colourful display next year.
It's been an embarrassing weekend for Scotland's Culture Minister Angus Robertson. The SNP MSP has pulled out of a promotional event for his new book which had been paid for by a grant for his own department. From the Sunday Mail: But Angus Robertson cancelled his appearance last night - after the Sunday Mail started asking about the £30,000 handed to it by a group under his remit. The Cabinet Secretary for the Constitution, External Affairs and Culture had been due to appear at the Borders Book Festival to plug Vienna - The International Capital. The event was awarded the ...
The deadline to apply for the Federal Policy Committee's new working group on a fairer society is 6pm on Wednesday, 3rd November. The party's Head of Policy Christian Moon emailed members this week: The group will consider a wide range of issues affecting society, including our approach to social security, Universal Basic Income, skills, tax, industrial policy and regional development – with the clear aim of building a fairer, more liberal society. The group will start work as soon as possible, with a view to producing a consultation paper for discussion at Spring Conference 2022 and a final paper for ...
Non-fiction 8 (YTD 38) John Quincy Adams: American Visionary, by Fred Kaplan Groetjes uit Vlaanderen, by Mohamed Ouaamari The Ambassadors of Death, by L.M. Myles Dark Water / Death in Heaven, by Philip Purser-Hallard Free Speeches, by Denis Kitchen, Nadine Strossen, Dave Sim, Neil Gaiman and Frank Miller The Ryans of Inch and Their World: A Catholic Gentry Family from Dispossession to Integration, c.1650-1831, by Richard John Fitzpatrick (PhD thesis) Those About to Die, by Daniel P. Mannix Discipline or Corruption, by Konstantin Stanislavsky [IMG: John Quincy Adams cover] [IMG: Groetjes uit Vlaanderen cover] [IMG: Ambassadors of Death cover] [IMG: ...
This is the Editorial from yesterday's Independent. It is so good about what needs to be done at COP26 that I have reproduced this in full and happily acknowledge their work. It is with a poignant, symbolic irony that the ... Continue reading →
Sun 31st
13:09
Lib Dem James Barker to fight North Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner by-election
James Barker has been selected to stand again as the Lib Dem candidate in the forthcoming North Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner by-election. James was our candidate for this role in May. The by-election was caused by the resignation of the previous incumbent for his disgraceful observation in the wake of the details of Sarah Everard's murder being made public. He said: "So women first of all just need to be streetwise about when they can be arrested and when they can't be arrested. "She should never have been arrested and submitted to that." Although he apologised, the county's Police, ...
For me, this won the internet this week. US diplomats filmed themselves trying out some Scottish delicacies, including Haggis, Irn Bru and Deep Fried Mars Bars ahead of spending a couple of weeks in the city for COP 26. It's charming, funny (especially when you see their diplomatic skills being put to good use) and exactly what you need on a rainy Sunday morning. Before we head to Scotland next week, we thought we'd get together and try some of the local cuisine... #COP26Glasgow pic.twitter.com/RN8t5Zx98J — Chargé d'Affaires Philip T. Reeker (@USAmbUK) October 30, 2021 It was reported back in ...
A few weeks ago, I mused upon whether or not to run for one of the various committees of the National Association of Local Councils (NALC). Nominations closed on Monday, and with all of the three key leadership roles up for grabs (our Chair and both Vice-Chairs are term-limited), it will be interesting to see who emerges to take them on at a time of flux. There are significant challenges ahead as devolution bids roll out across the shire counties - how do town and parish councils sit in terms of service provision, for example? The new leadership will need ...
Why, as Lib Dems, we must campaign for proportional representation As Liberal Democrats, electoral reform is in our DNA. That's why we welcome the ongoing efforts of our ally organisations such as the Electoral Reform Society, Make Votes Matter, and Unlock Democracy. After all, we know that we cannot bring about the change we want to see by acting alone. As Lib Dem members our involvement in cross-party campaign efforts is all to the good. I encourage any who are not yet active in these groups to sign up today! But I believe that we also need to campaign for ...
It is difficult to see how anybodycan take the UK and its prime minister seriously when they talk about the need to tackle climate change. The latest example of ministerial hypocrisy is featured in the Mirror, who report that Boris Johnson has spent at least £216,000 on private flights since becoming Prime Minister, having taken more than 20 flights on private aircraft in two years: The polluting PM pumped an estimated 52 tons of CO2 into the air with party political campaign trips on private jets and VIP charter planes. It comes after the Sunday Mirror revealed Mr Johnson had ...
Sat, 14:52: Parlement, the 2020 TV series https://t.co/wltpscleJn Sat, 17:11: RT @adamcobb: @Mij_Europe But hang on... less than a month ago he said he preferred not to negotiate this way. Sat, 18:49: September 2013 books https://t.co/SkpttszVET Sun, 10:45: RT @johnnythin: Who wouldn't want a gravestone resembling a gently decaying art deco power station? https://t.co/Sv7h0WBuTj
After seeing the modern incarnation of the Zombies play Market Harborough 10 years ago I wrote: We discover popular music backwards as well as forwards. I loved Argent's Hold Your Head Up when I was 12 and Colin Blunstone's early solo work reminds me of listening to Radio Luxembourg under the covers at the same age. But I doubt that I had then heard of the Zombies - I can remember my surprise at learning that Carlos Santana was not the writer of She's Not There. And here is that Santana version. It reached number 11 in the UK singles ...
The infection rate in Ludlow halved during the week to 24 October. But, with 456 infections per 100,000 people, the rate remained high. Looking further afield, Shropshire had a infection rate last Friday of 325; Telford & Wrekin 470; and England 360. These rates are down on the previous week during which Telford & Wrekin reached its highest infection rate to date. There could have been some distortion in the data due a rush for testing before the half term holiday and a reduction of testing during the holiday itself. The recent falls in rates could be affected by this. ...
Sun 31st
08:33World Review: Coups, budget, Brexit, hypersonic China, dictatorships and weaponizing energy
This year the world seems to be suffering from a pandemic of coups. Myanmar, Guinea, Mali, Chad Ethiopia (although technically it is a civil war) and now Sudan. There were also attempted coups in Madagascar and the Central African Republic. It is not surprising. The combined forces of covid-19, Jihadism and long-standing ethnic divisions are taking their toll and the first victims are almost always the poorest countries. Sudan is a prime example. The per capita income is just under $4,000 a year. It ranks 181 out of 225 countries in the wealth stakes. In Sudan's case neither covid nor ...
There have recently been complaints about some cars being parked inappropriately in the Miller's Wynd car park, outside designated spaces and on the wood barking to the front of the community fridge. I raised this with the council's parking team on behalf of residents.
