The Sixties were the decade when commercial traffic more or less died out on England's canals. And this precious footage of the Birmingham Canal Navigations in 1965 reveals that the boats and the infrastructure were both in a pretty shabby state by then. There are more films on this blog's Canals label.
Amy Taylor reminds us that banks have been denying people accounts for years: "For my client, there was no accusation of fraud, no prosecution, and no knowledge of any fraud, just a registered possibility of risk, which left her without banking facilities at an extremely vulnerable point in her life. No amount of pleading or explaining her situation worked. The banks turned her away." Sarah Dyke the 35th woman elected to Westminster under the Liberal or Liberal Democrat banner. Stephen Williams lists them all, and adds the women who have been elected to national parliaments and the European Parliament. Danny ...
It is 46 days since Nadine Dorries tweeted that she would stand down as an MP with "immediate" effect. She hasn't yet and her constituents aren't happy about it.
Years ago a cartoon of me was published in a local newspaper. Those were the days when the local press was actually local and effective, with reporters who turned up at events and interviewed people. It was a gentle depiction of my curly hair in a Council meeting. I rather enjoyed the fact that I had been portrayed in this way. But that is not really what political cartooning is about – if it had done its job properly I should have been angry. We expect our cartoonists to speak truth to power, and that should make their targets uncomfortable. ...
I have gone all over the world to talk about the village that I live in within a city which has at its heart the world famous Penny Lane. It is the concept of a neighbourhood village that lies at ... Continue reading →
The Guardian reports that the UK government appears unlikely to recover any money from a healthcare recruitment agency that allegedly failed to deliver on a multimillion-pound PPE contract awarded during the Covid pandemic. The paper says that the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has confirmed it is in a dispute over the £20m-plus contract awarded to SG Recruitment UK Ltd, however, the agency's parent company has gone into liquidation, raising questions about whether the government can recoup any funds: SG Recruitment was granted its first contract in April 2020, only five days after it was referred to the ...
From the City Council : THE ROAD TRAFFIC REGULATION ACT 1984 - SECTION 14(1) THE DUNDEE CITY COUNCIL AS TRAFFIC AUTHORITY being satisfied that traffic on the road should be prohibited by reason of Scottish Water remedial works being carried out HEREBY PROHIBIT the driving of any vehicle in Nethergate (westbound between West Marketgait and South Tay Street), Dundee. This notice comes into effect on Sunday 30 July 2023 at 9am until Monday 31 July 2023 at 6am. Pedestrian thoroughfare will be maintained. Access to Tay Street Lane will not be available for the duration of the works. Alternative routes ...
