I have been reliably informed that the Conservatives used a commercial delivery company to distribute their election leaflet in Winlaton and High Spen ward of Gateshead Council. That's not the interesting point. Rather, the response the leafletters have been getting from residents has not been positive with many turned away from people's homes. It seems that the good people of the ward are not as
We have a new world chess champion. Yesterday, Ding Loren from China beat Ian Nepomniachtchi from Russia in a rapid tie break after a tied 14-game match (they recorded three wins each and eight draws). I have long been an admirer of Ding's: he is a brave player and it did not surprise me that when things got really tense he prevailed over the more fluent Nepo. (The match was Ding vs Nepo to all chess fans and, incidentally, Ian is pronounced Yan.) The two contested the match because the reigning world champion, Magnus Carlsen of Norway, declined to defend ...
This one is a little bit of a mystery. Doi let me know if you can shed any light on it.
Brent Councillor Anton Georgiou spoke to the Kilburn Times and the Local Democracy Reporting Service recently about his experience of being stalked and called for better support for victims of stalking and especially those in public life. Councillor Georgiou spoke candidly about his experiences – from receiving threatening messages and constant phone calls to his stalker sending him feces, emails containing pictures of himself covered in ejaculate and death threats. He talked candidly about the impact the messages and calls had on him personally and professionally as well as on his family and how this only increased when his stalker ...
Ludlow Town Council is consulting on upgrading the Christmas decorations in the town centre. One option, which hasn't found widespread favour, is to replace the forest grown tree with an artificial tree. An artificial tree is the wrong image for our town. But why have a tree at all? A better idea would be to turn Castle Gardens into a Garden of Light for the festive season. A Garden of Light might take different forms. Lights could be strung between the pollarded lime trees. Temporary light installations could adorn the gardens. These might include pop up works of art by ...
Enjoying a leisurely breakfast before some Bank Holiday delivering, I put Talking Pictures TV on. They are showing The Card, a adaptation of Oscar Wilde's play Lady Windermere's Fan. One of the stars is Richard Greene, in his matinée idol period and before he took to wearing Lincoln green and riding through the glen. Looking Richard Greene up on IMDb, I find that he was the grandson of the film pioneer William Friese-Greene. Why didn't I know that? I was even interested in the Friese-Greene family early in this blog's history. I didn't know it because it isn't true. The ...
I have been so busy over the past 4 weeks (lambing and political campaigning) that I haven't had a chance to write about the local elections here in Gateshead. So, with a few minutes to spare before I have to print another leaflet, here is a bit of catch up. And first up is the Labour candidate against me in Whickham South and Sunniside.Sam Grist works for Liz Twist, MP for Blaydon. I am
The Independent reports that a government minister has admitted that the number of people turned away from voting because they don't have the right ID will not be fully recorded. The paper says that the admission by Communities minister Rachel Maclean, yesterday, means that the effect of the government's new voter ID policies - which critics have characterised as voter suppression - may never be known: While people turned away at polling station desks will be recorded, people who are alerted at the door that they will need ID and who then leave will not count, the minister said. "If ...
DUNDEE CITY COUNCIL - WEEKLY ROAD REPORT REPORT FOR THE WEST END WARD - WEEK COMMENCING MONDAY 1 MAY 2023 Hawkhill (at Peddie Street) - temporary traffic lights on Friday 5 May for Scottish Water work. Brown Street (south of Douglas Street) - closed for 13 months for construction works. Forthcoming Roadworks Riverside Drive (at airport) - off peak temporary traffic lights Tuesday 16 May for DFT traffic loop repair. Blackness Road (at Glenagnes Road) - temporary traffic lights Wednesday 17 (9.00am) to Thursday 18 May (6.00am) for Scottish Water work.
This day in 2022 saw the appearance of the first edition of The Week in Polls, my weekly guide to British political polling.
