John Rogers writes on YouTube: The Black Path was a drover's route that led from Epping Forest to the markets in the City of London - primarily Smithfield Market. It dates back to at least the middle ages but some local historians believe its origins may stretch back further in time. The path starts at St James Street, Walthamstow then passes down South Access Road to Leyton Marshes after which is crosses the River Lea and passes across South Millfields Clapton, along Powerscroft Road to St John at Hackney and the medieval church tower of St Augustine. We then follow ...
I'll be honest. When I hear that a Government Minister has made a speech on Civil Service reform and modernisation, in my heart I expect not to like what they've got to say. More often than not, I don't. There's a tendency for politicians to see us bureaucrats as being an obstacle to change, a barrier between the world they want and where we are now. Accordingly, reform and modernisation are a shorthand for giving the Civil Service a bloody good kicking. Don't get me wrong. As a bloodied veteran of the public sector trenches, I would be the last ...
Sun 4th
19:34
A demographic bedrock of British politics has flipped, but will it flip back? - The Week in Polls
The latest edition of my weekly political polling round-up, The Week in Polls, is out. As it says: A seventy-plus years pattern now looks to be firmly broken and reversed. Although it does get mentioned, I don't think the scale of mentions really measures up to the significance of what we've seen change in British politics (and where is the worry in the Conservative Party over this change?). Find out more by reading this edition of The Week in Polls here, and you can sign up below to receive future editions direct to your email inbox:
If you enjoy Agatha Christie then I can recommend the podcast All About Agatha. It recently finished the considerable task of discussing her novels, and is now looking at Christie the dramatist. The latest All About Agatha tackles The Mousetrap. Fittingly for a podcast covering the longest-running play in history, it weighs in at over four hours. Regular readers of this blog will know that genesis of The Mousetrap was a real-life tragedy: the death of a 12-year-old foster child, Dennis O'Neill, in 1945. This podcast puts him at its centre by including an interview with Philip O'Neill, who is ...
Sun 4th
11:44
Chuckle Brothers legend horrified by toilet-flushing ghost at haunted Nottinghamshire house
Thanks to Nottinghamshire Live, we have our Headline of the Day. One of the judges described it as a case of "to me to whooo!" Do read the whole story. I was going to h/t Ron Manager on Twitter, but he's now deleted his tweet. Spooky.
When the Songdog album Joy Street came out in 2017, Americana UK declared: A new album from Lyndon Morgans, aka Songdog, is something to be eagerly anticipated, then played endlessly and treasured once it appears. There truly is nobody else like him, nobody who does what he does and precious few as good. In a more just world he'd be the subject of adulatory profiles in the broadsheets and sell out the finest concert halls in the land. In this one though he's a secret, garlanded with critical acclaim but clutched to the breasts only of those in the know, ...
Rickards will be no more and Ludlow will lose one of its most distinctive independent retail shops. Rickards has sold hardware and domestic wares since 1864. Now, the property is up for sale and the vendor is inviting anyone who wants to also buy the business to contact them. An application for planning permission has been made to allow a wider variety of uses for the ground floor. The next use could be anything from a café to a financial adviser. The vendors have a clear preference for "a mixed space which will incorporate retail, spaces for local artisan crafters ...
It surprises me sometimes how often I agree with Dafydd Wigley, and today is no exception.The former Plaid Cymru leader tells the BBC that plans to bring in a so-called closed list PR system for the Welsh Senedd from 2026 poses "a very great danger". The plans, which were agreed in principle by MSs this week, will see the number of Members of the Senedd increase for the first time, from 60 to 96, while the way MSs are elected will change, with them being chosen from 16 so-called super-constituencies based on the new Westminster seats, with six members each. ...
From Sheena Wellington : Lunchtime Recital, Wednesday 7th February - 1.15pm - 1.45pm - Aandowin Trio at the Wighton Centre, Central Library in the Wellgate Centre Aandowin are Peter Cooper (fiddle), Margaret Leighton (accordion) and Bill Shackman (cittern). The group plays a laid-back mix of Shetland and Celtic session tunes. With their usual good timing they formed just before lockdown meaning that practicing in a gazebo became the only option. They can occasionally be seen busking outside St Andrews public library until they make enough money for lunch, at which point they stop.
