In 1956, an award-winning young Irish sculptor and art teacher, William Trevor Cox, living in Braunston was commissioned to produce several pieces in wood for the village church. These was a lectern and, for a side chapel, two relief panels and a crucifix, candlesticks and vases. Some years later, after working in advertising, he turned his hand to be writing and, under the name William Trevor, became a celebrated novelist and writer of short stories. In Braunston last week, I called in at All Saints' to see his work. There was building work going on in the side chapel and ...
Frome wasn't built in a day. Nevertheless, Somerset Live reports that the Liberal Democrats immediately got stuck in to the Somerton and Frome by-election. Less than a week into the campaign, the party has set up their main shop in Frome, with satellite hubs across the constituency. Activists from across the country gathered to hear a rallying speech from Sarah Dyke and Tiverton and Honiton by-election winner Richard Foord MP. The Liberal Democrats overturned the Conservative's 24,239 majority with Richard Foord's win. His victory continued the party's winning streak in rural blue wall seats, adding to previous by-election success in ...
Our current Focus for Whickham South and Sunniside is now delivered to 80% of the households in the ward. Yesterday I headed out to do a mopping up operation - finishing a couple of patches in Sunniside. Good weather for it - sunny but with a refreshing breeze. Not so today. Cooler and a bit of rain. Looks like delivery will be tomorrow instead.
My two ward colleagues - Councillors Jonathan Mohammed and Marilynn Ord - recently held two village surgeries in Byermoor and Marley Hill. This is an alternative to the usual surgeries normally held in a publicly accessible building. The aim is to had a series of village surgeries throughout the ward. So we set up in the circle in Byermoor (see above photo) and afterwards moved on to the bottom
A report from Chatham House deconstructs 16 myths and misconceptions that shape contemporary Western thinking on Russia: "Crimea has been in Russian hands for only a fraction of its history. If unchallenged, the Kremlin's fiction that Crimea willingly and legitimately 'rejoined' Russia risks further undermining Ukraine's territorial integrity and encouraging other expansionist powers." "This system of control is replicated across the main parties in local government and, increasingly, in the selection procedure for parliamentary candidates: both the Conservatives and Labour are trying to ensure that any new MP will already be whip compliant. A dearth of ideas, diversity, discussion, innovation ...
Photo above – In the Frome HQ, showing off Sarah Dyke's image and their spatulas, are Holly Gunning (l) and Councillor Emily Pearlstone (r) 2015. It doesn't seem a long time ago. That was when I last visited Somerton and Frome to campaign for my good friend, David Rendel, in the general election. It was a mark of the chutzpah of David Rendel that he took on the challenge of Somerton and Frome after being MP for Newbury for 12 years. In the event, the seat was won, with a large majority, by a Conservative newcomer, one David Warburton. Since ...
It is vital that the Operation Aloft case is now brought to a conclusion given that the Crown Prosecution Service has been given the case file by the Police. My initial thought when the Echo broke the news that the ... Continue reading →
The Guardian refers to a report by the Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit ('We Lost Our Lives When We Arrived Here'), which claims that lone child asylum seekers are facing fivefold increases in delays in having their claims processed by the Home Office, with devastating consequences. The paper says that social workers, legal professionals and the children themselves have warned that the impact of being left in limbo about their future for so long includes the risk of suicide, self-harm and persistent insomnia: The report includes GMIAU's own casework and Home Office data as well as interviews with child asylum ...
A bollard that separates the north and south sections of Taylor's Lane was recently hit by a vehicle. We reported this to the Roads Maintenance Partnership and have received this helpful reply : "An order has been raised for repairs to be carried out." This work has now been done and bollard replaced.
