Putin lacks the courage or the political imagination to build a Russia for the twenty-first century. And so he retreats to a past that exists only in his mind. Continue reading →
Hooray! The BSFA shortlists are out, and as usual I've looked at how many people have the novels on Goodreads and LibraryThing. (Only two of the short fiction finalists are standalone publicatioons, and while four of the six non-fiction finalists are monographs, a couple of them barely register on Goodreads of LibraryThing). For Best Novel, the numbers are as follows: Goodreads LibraryThing reviewers av rating owners av rating A Desolation Called Peace, by Arkady Martine 12621 4.38 478 4.18 £6.99 from Amazon Shards of Earth, by Adrian Tchaikovsky 6081 4.24 174 4.03 £8.19 from Amazon Skyward Inn, by Aliya Whiteley ...
Mon 28th
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The ALDE Party and Liberal International both hold their next Congresses in June and their committees will face re-election. Accordingly, Federal International Relations Committee (FIRC) is seeking potential candidates to serve on these committees. Closing date: 15 March The following opportunities are available to Liberal Democrat members; ALDE Party Bureau This is the political leadership of the ALDE Party, and most, but not all, current Bureau members have parliamentary experience. A high level of political experience, preferably with a European dimension, is an advantage. If nominated, the candidate will take part in an election where the electorate will consist of ...
On Wednesday Cllr Pat Moloney and I will be calling for the recreation of the old townships of Liverpool from Walton to Woolton and from Aigburth to Allerton in a Town Hall debate on the Council Plan which will precede ... Continue reading →
Sad news from the Shropshire Star: Real ale drinkers in Shropshire are ruing the closure of a renowned county brewery in Wood's. Its closure has been confirmed by a message on the company's answering machine. A sad-sounding message says that the company's demise was "forced" on to it due to "unfavourable trading conditions." The recorded message apologises for not being able to answer - but it points out that the brewery pub, the Plough Inn, remains open and trading. Wood's began brewing in 1980 and their most famous beer was the bitter Shropshire Lad. This was originally to be a ...
Non-fiction 5 (YTD 16) Roger Zelazny, by F. Brett Cox Duran Duran: The First Four Years of the Fab Five by Neil Gaiman The Evil of the Daleks, by Simon Guerrier Pyramids of Mars, by Kate Orman Lost in Translation, by Ella Frances Sanders Non-genre 1 (YTD 7) The Postmistress, by Sarah Blake SF 8 (YTD 15) Howl's Moving Castle, by Diana Wynne Jones Indigo, by Clemens J. Setz The War in the Air, by H. G. Wells Chaos on CatNet, by Naomi Kritzer Project Hail Mary, by Andy Weir Fireheart Tiger, by Aliette de Bodard After Atlas, by Emma ...
The parallels are difficult to avoid. A continent divided by petty political rivalries attempts to appease a mighty foe. A small state whose leader faces internal opposition stands alone. The world's largest military force threatens at the gates. A charismatic hero and a small body of hopelessly outgunned warriors resolve to fight to the death. Most schoolchildren are familiar with the story of Leonidas's 300 Spartans at Thermopylae taking a last stand against a tyrannous Eastern Empire. Even if they didn't learn about it in school, they are familiar with the Zack Snyder and Fran Miller film of 2006. Tragically, ...
The warning to rich Russians linked to Putin that the UK government "will come after you" and ensure oligarchs have "nowhere to hide" is likely to hit hard at the gated luxury housing estate in Surrey dubbed "Britain's Beverly Hills". writes the Guardian's wealth correspondent. Russians and those from former Soviet states own more than a quarter of the 430 luxurious homes in St George's Hill, a heavily guarded 964-acre estate near Weybridge, Surrey, where mansions have changed hands for more than £20m each. If St George's Hill sounds familiar, it may be because you have read The World Turned ...
Glory be, it's another empty pavement victory, this time on the boundary of Haringey and Islington Councils in North London.
I am sure we have all been appalled by the scenes in Ukraine and share a feeling of helplessness. Over the weekend the Home Office have said that Ukrainian nationals, without close relatives in the UK, fleeing the war in Ukraine must apply for a visa to come to the UK "in the normal way" and one Minister went as far as to say people could come here – on the condition they agreed to be seasonal workers picking cabbage and kale. Today in the House of Lords we vote on the Government's Nationality and Borders Bill. In recent times, ...
News from Wycombe Liberal Democrats: Wycombe Lib Dems are delighted to announce that Toni Brodelle has been selected to run against Steve Baker MP in Wycombe at the next general election. Toni has been living, working, campaigning and volunteering in High Wycombe for the majority of her life and was our PPC for the 2019 general election. She supports a huge number of local community initiatives and is a member of the House of Lords task group relating to the Middle East and human rights. She has 21 years' experience as a teacher and business owner and is an active ...
I am frustrated. I want to be on the Kyiv front line reporting the heroic defense of the city. I can't. I am old and decrepit. But I – and whomever is reading this — can help in other ways. We can send money. We collect money. We can send clothes and supplies to refugees. We can support agencies helping to defend Ukraine and OUR democratic values. We can write to our MPs, Congressmen, Senators, community leaders and social media influencers expressing our opinions and calling on them to both prepare and act. So to start with here is a ...
Sun, 12:56: Interesting Australian analysis. https://t.co/ra1L0aiZq4 Sun, 14:48: RT @delfoo: 1/I am going to try to explain the irrational Russian Armed Forces behavior towards strategy, common thought, or even the chanc... Sun, 16:47: RT @reclamation2022: Cost of membership goes up start of March, from £70 to £80. 2022's Eastercon runs the 15-18th of April at The Radiss... Sun, 18:08: May 2015 books https://t.co/qzZ7A7e7Ki Sun, 18:08: RT @PickardJE: huge breaking news at BP: - BP to exit its 20% stake in Russian oil giant Rosneft - BP chief executive Bernard Looney to r... Sun, 20:22: RT @ZelenskyyUa: It was nice to ...
So what has this blog been concerned with on what is usually the last day of February? 2021 Rosalind Franklin, the neglected pioneer of our understanding of DNA, turned out to be the great niece of the Liberal Party leader Herbert Samuel. 2020 This was, I had worked out, the 51st anniversary of my only West End appearance in the Danny La Rue show Queen Passionella and the Sleeping Beauty - I was one of the children asked up on to the stage halfway through::My strongest memory of the evening, apart from my own performance, is of Danny La Rue ...
[IMG: Gathered together in support of the people of Ukraine] Is there anything tangible that I can do to help those in need, I often ask myself? Being well informed, being on top of the news agenda is not nearly enough. Sometimes, the most spontaneous ideas can make a real a difference. A simple gathering, organised "overnight" can simply bring together a few people to show that even if we live far away, we care, we are sad, angry, devastated and that we want to show our solidarity with our Ukrainian friends. This is how the idea for this event ...
The rouble may be in a tail spin this morning, and Russian banks may have more than doubled interest rates, but it is not just the ordinary citizens of Putin's Russia who are going to suffer from the economic sanctions imposed on it. Russia and Ukraine are major suppliers of the raw materials and energy on which our economy and that of the rest of the world is built. It is inevitable that there will be shortages and price hikes greater than those already envisaged as part of the cost of living crisis. The Independent reports that the foreign secretary ...
Loudwater Studio is a community arts studio on the Burway Trading Estate off Bromfield Road. Supported by the charity Vision Homes, it has specialised in providing support for those with physical and learning impairments. Last week, Vision Homes announced without giving a public reason that the studio will close from 31 March 2022. Members of the studio are understandably very upset by this unexpected move. They have set up a Facebook page and started a petition to draw in support for saving the studio: "This news has come as a complete shock to us members and we are not just ...
It is slightly hard to believe that, a week ago, the idea of war between two nations on the European continent was hard to credit, despite Russian provocation. And here we are, with an almost entirely united Europe doing everything it can short of actually fighting. That might not be so far away, given all the evidence that we are confronted by someone who thinks that, if he keeps pushing, we'll crack. So far, it seems as though Vladimir Putin is wrong about that. We've also learned that, in an age of instant reportage where anyone with a smartphone can ...
I have today slammed Dundee City Council for a complacent and wholly unacceptable response to the recent residents' parking consultation in the West End, Coldside and Maryfield. A report coming to the council's City Development Committee on 7th March recommends no further consultation and no actions whatsoever to improve parking in the areas concerns which I feel is really utterly pathetic. The council has decided to wash its hands on helping residents with the parking situation and on the back of a wholly inadequate online consultation process. Written responses from the public amounting to the grand total of only 50, ...
So, as reported previously I've spent the last few days in Washington State, with one of my oldest friends, A, and his family, M and little E (and older F who I did not manage to catch on camera). It was lovely to see them. Not quite my first time in the Pacific Northwest - I spent 24 hours in Portland, Oregon in 2016. But four days is a decent length of time, and little E was asking why I had to go home? Who will teach her to play Sudoku now? My first tourism stop in Seattle was the ...
Liberal Democrat MPs will today vote against the Government's attempts to reintroduce draconian laws cracking down on the right to protest. Two key laws were removed from the Government's Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill through Liberal Democrat amendments in the House of Lords last month. They would create new powers to impose restrictions on public assemblies and one-person protests. Liberal Democrats also supported cross-party amendments to remove the power to ban protests that are "too noisy". The Government has tabled motions to overturn those Lords amendments, which the House of Commons will debate today. Ahead of the votes, Liberal ...
Responding to the confirmation that the Government will be bringing forward the long-awaited Economic Crime Bill on Tuesday, Liberal Democrat Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Layla Moran MP said: "This announcement is long overdue. It shouldn't have taken a war in Ukraine for action to prevent dirty Russian money flooding into our country and corrupting our politics. "These new measures must be fast tracked though parliament and used in full, to crack down on Putin's cronies by seizing and freezing their assets. "The cash collected through this oligarchs tax should then be used to help people cope with their soaring energy bills. ...
