When I saw the cast of this 1961 television play included two Liberal England heroes - Freda Jackson and Stratford Johns - I had to have the DVD of it. Serjeant Musgrave's Dance is a play by John Arden, first performed at the Royal Court Theatre in London in 1959 to a less than ecstatic reception. Arden himself adapted it for television, and the general view after it was broadcast was that he had made the story easier to follow. As Wikipedia explains: The work follows three privates in the British Army and their sergeant, all of whom are deserters ...
My next speaking engagement is on Wednesday at 1.30pm when I will be talking to the U3A at Sunniside Social Club. I will be talking about what history has taught me about self-sufficiency. So that means two of my passions in one go! I will be giving the same talk later this year to Sunniside History Society. The Powerpoint presentation is ready. I will give it one further rehearsal tonight.
A lot of opposition to construction of HS2 has been ill-informed - my favourite example was an article in the Spectator calling for the reopening of the old Great Central Railway. That would be a wonderful idea if its route through both Leicester and Nottingham hadn't been lost to redevelopment. So it's good to listen a an HS2 sceptic who knows what he is talking about. Last week Christian Wolmar appeared on The Bunker podcast to guide us through the project's confused rationale, route and future. Have a listen to him. He also has a new podcast of his own: ...
Sunday saw the 230th anniversary of the death of Brass Crosby. Despite the years that have passed since then, his legacy lives on, having given the press the freedom to write exactly what was said in Parliament. It wasn't a freedom easily won; in 1771 Mayor of London, Brass Crosby and Alderman Oliver were sent to the Tower of London for their stand on this which infuriated the establishment in Parliament. In those days, when George III was on the throne and Lord North ruled in Parliament, there was much unrest and dissent in the country – much like today, ...
One in seven have stayed at home to look after a relative due to lack of care staff Truss Piece: Withdraw the £115,000 Ex-PM Allowance One in seven have stayed at home to look after a relative due to lack of care staff One in seven had to stay at home to look after a relative because of lack of care workers Lib Dem Leader calls for new 'Carer's Minimum Wage' to tackle chronic staff shortages in social care New figures reveal care workers paid less than those in retail, hospitality and supermarkets A staggering one in seven UK adults ...
Campaigner Tom Gordon has been selected as the Liberal Democrat candidate for Harrogate and Knaresborough.
Last week I went to speak at the Chelmsford Liberal Democrat annual dinner, and so got a chance to see what the local Liberal Democrats do with their potholes.
"There are low hanging fruit in London for the taking" What my good friend Cllr Kuldev Sehra means by this is that there are many areas that are looking for an alternative, when they think their vote is taken for granted. Kuldev is part of the team helping the Chiswick LibDems in a by-election in Hounslow. This has never been an area that the Lib Dems have targeted but from early conversations there is some interesting potential here. Cllr Sehra is our first turban wearing Sikh LibDem London councillor elected in Richmond, Whitton ward, last May, he is a great ...
Sunniside History Society met on Wednesday last week. We were expecting a talk on 17th century Newcastle but the speaker at the last moment was unable to get to the meeting. Plan B was put into operation. It was a video of the Tanfield railway from Pontop Pike to the Dunston Staiths. As people had turned up to hear about the history of Newcastle, I also gave an impromptu talk about the Lort Burn
Time is running out for residents to have their say on Council plans to slash the budget for street cleaning and a host of other environmental services. The Labour run Council are proposing £970,000 in cuts to environmental services, including: less winter grittingcuts in street cleaningreductions in grass cuttingfewer staff to look after our parksweed control will be cut in halfMeanwhile, some
Sun, 15:38: Square numbers ending in repeated�digits https://t.co/A2apKIm8pw Sun, 16:04: RT @BesianKuko: @nwbrux Proof Wiki has a good proof for this on base 10. https://t.co/tIBGVenU6s Sun, 19:37: Sunday reading https://t.co/L3bhsiKYSZ Sun, 20:48: RT @IndyVoices: "The former prime minister has come out fighting - but she's gotten it all wrong. Again", writes @_SeanOGrady https://t.co... Sun, 23:29: RT @tvark: Today we wish 'The Wombles' a Very Happy 50th Birthday. They first appeared on BBC1 at 5.40pm on 5th February 1973, just before... Mon, 10:45: Truss, tax cuts and the Tories. "The burnt fool's bandaged finger goes wabbling back to the fire." https://t.co/j9ER31PaAN ...
Lib Dem Bill to stop prepayment meter installations blocked by Govt Strike Postponement is Welcome Progress Just a quarter of the "40 new hospitals" have received planning permission Lib Dem Bill to stop prepayment meter installations blocked by Govt A Liberal Democrats Bill to end all installations of prepayment metres over the Winter has been effectively blocked by the Conservative Government. This comes after Ofgem announced the suspension of forcible installations of prepayment meters yesterday [2 Feb] following a Times investigation into British Gas. Liberal Democrats have been campaigning on this issue for months; first presenting the Prepayment Meters (Temporary ...
John Milne will contest the Horsham constituency seat for the Liberal Democrats at the next general election.
The Guardian reports that a number of Conservative MPs are pushing for a commitment to be included in their manifesto at the next General Election to leave Churchill's European Convention on Human Rights. Not every Tory MP agrees however. Sir Bob Neill, Tory chair of the Commons justice committee, is reported as saying: "If Conservatives don't believe in the rule of law, what do we believe in? Are we going to put ourselves in the same company as Russia and Belarus?" While others who would be likely to baulk at the idea of leaving the convention include the development minister, ...
I was pleasantly surprised this week by the proposal to increase pay for workers in the social care sector to £2 per hour above the National Minimum Wage, funded by an increase in Remote Gaming Duty. Surprised because it recognises that, in order to attract people to work in a sector with tens of thousands of vacancies, you have to accept that a free market includes everyone, not just the private sector, and by the astuteness of the means of funding it. After all, how much sympathy are online gambling operators going to get? And, of course, if you can ...
DUNDEE CITY COUNCIL - WEEKLY ROAD REPORT REPORT FOR THE WEST END WARD - WEEK COMMENCING MONDAY 6 FEBRUARY 2023 West Marketgait (Northbound) at Greenmarket (new BT development) - off‑peak (9.30am - 3.30pm) lane closure for 5 no water service connections until Friday 3 February. Session Street - closed for one week for Scottish Water work. Session Street/Hawkhill/Blinshall Street/Guthrie Street - temporary traffic lights and lane closures for cladding inspection works at The Hub building from Sunday 29 January - Friday 3 February. Perth Road (at Millbay Terrace) - temporary traffic lights for 2 weeks for Scotland Gas Network mains ...
