Wandering north of St Pancras, I came across an unexpected building: Old St Pancras Church House. Ornamental Passions explains: The church itself is right next to the station, so it was rather isolated from the community after the railway took over much of the land for marshalling yards in the later Victorian period. This must have been part of the motivation for building this charming mission hall to the north of the church in 1896 to the designs of C.R. Baker King. The figure of the saint over the door was carved by Harry Hems (1842-1916), an eccentric and excitable ...
The comedy writer Eric Chappell has died. He was best known for writing Rising Damp, which is a strong candidate for being the best situation comedy ever shown on ITV. Though as the British Comedy Guide points out: Whilst Rising Damp - which starred Leonard Rossiter - propelled Chappell to both stardom and writing as a full-time career, he penned a further string of sitcom hits for ITV broadcasters, including the beloved holiday comedy Duty Free; father-son domestic sitcom Home To Roost; office comedy The Squirrels; and The Bounder, a sitcom of brotherly rivalry starring George Cole and Peter Bowles. ...
Sat 23rd
19:01
Rutland County Council Tory group splits: Councillors cannot support national party "on moral ground...
Three Conservative councillors on Rutland County Council - Gordon Brown, June Fox and Nick Begy - have left their party's group to form one of their own: Together4Rutland. The new group has also attracted Paul Ainsley, who was elected as a Conservative but more recently sat as an unaligned Independent. The Together4Rutland website says: In recent months, the three councillors have become increasingly concerned with the direction of travel of the Conservative group, and as backbenchers have felt marginalised, finding it harder to provide the support for the residents for whom they took up public service to help. In addition, ...
The Local Government Information Unit (LGIU) has released an Ipsos survey of 4,330 residents' attitudes to councils and councillors, and their priorities. Earlier, Ipsos published part of the poll which also included people's opinions of MPs and a regional breakdown of opinion. This survey gives a useful perspective for campaigners who are out drumming up support ahead of the 5 May elections, reinforcing and detailing what we know and what we are hearing on the doorsteps. Respondents said local government councils and councillors had more impact on people's daily lives and the quality of their neighbourhoods than the government. However, ...
This week Jacob Rees-Mogg left a very passive-aggressive note on a Whitehall noticeboard in an attempt to guilt-trip civil servants back to work. It is hardly surprising that a man who seems to be allergic to the 21st century can't see the benefits in modern working practices which were very useful during the pandemic and helpful when infection rates are still so high. Working from home is good for those with disabilities or caring responsibilities which make it more difficult for them to come into the office. A liberal approach would do all it could to ensure that everyone had ...
The Guardian reports that Leader of the House, Mark Spencer has defended a Treasury decision to shelve a review into the right to roam around the English countryside. In response to questions, Spencer said the English countryside is a "place of business" and already has "hundreds of thousands of miles of public footpaths". The paper says that the review, headed by Lord Agnew, had included a potential expansion of the much-fought-over "right to roam", which campaigners fear will not now go ahead. In response, activists are planning mass trespasses to raise awareness of how much of England's land is out ...
Fri, 12:56: RT @PedderSophie: Some thoughts on last night's Macron v Le Pen debate. She needed to show she's fit to govern (she didn't). He needed to a... Fri, 16:05: Jim Crow, Science Fiction, and WorldCon - Deep Cuts in a Lovecraftian Vein https://t.co/yzTnBW9eOa Important. Fri, 18:31: Hah! Daily Quordle 88 5️⃣6️⃣ 7️⃣4️⃣ https://t.co/Cm9zc2fDBW https://t.co/b9F9RayApR Fri, 18:59: Irish surname maps https://t.co/B63kqTL55E https://t.co/Cdv1Cn7o2j Sat, 03:37: Daily Octordle #89 🕚🔟 6️⃣9️⃣ 3️⃣5️⃣ 8️⃣7️⃣ https://t.co/j7MjyMDtNS Sat, 08:12: RT @tconnellyRTE: Why Boris Johnson may legislate to breach NI Protocol via @RTENews https://t.co/GWpR4TMG4E
We don't often reference the Daily Mail here on LDV. But this week they published a generally supportive article (with photos of both Ed Davey and Hina Bokhari): Campaigners call for more help for cladding-hit flat owners and a proper overhaul of leaseholds after latest vote on Building Safety Bill. Leaseholders across the country, particularly in cities with high rise blocks of flats, are concerned that they will have to pay for the replacement of dangerous cladding. The Government insists that leaseholders are protected from the costs of dangerous buildings. Earlier this year, the Secretary of State for Housing Michael ...
I recently received complaints that the road surface is poor at the junction where Blackness Road meets Balgay Road/Blackness Avenue. I raised this with the City Council's Roads Maintenance Partnership and have had the following helpful response : "Bailie Macpherson Thank you for your email. This location has been identified for structural inlay hopefully next financial year."
