Not Earl Stilton, who is probably an old friend of Lord Bonkers, the father of the Rutland heiress Paris Stilton and quite capable of being rude himself, but the Leicestershire settlement Earl Shilton. Writing about one of those forgotten disasters or scandals that intrigue me, I described it as "a fairly nondescript village". First, Earl Shilton is a town not a village. Second, I don't know how I thought myself qualified to judge it when I'd never been there. Well, I went there on Friday and it's not "fairly nondescript at all". No place is dull to someone with eyes ...
The latest edition of my weekly political polling round-up, The Week in Polls, is out. As it says: There is already an old joke among followers of political polls that in the future anyone looking at a graph of polling data including Liz Truss's brief sojourn as PM in September and October 2022 will scurry to check the original data as the lines from her time in charge will look so strange that the person will think they must be wrong. And yet, while at first it appeared to those on all political sides that the Truss era was a ...
Charlotte Thompson, who lives there, challenges the government's contention that Rwanda is a safe country: "Many Rwandan citizens are extremely proud of the position their country is in now and support the government entirely, one can hardly be surprised having watched the transformation. But many do not, and the price of not supporting the government can often be, well, death." Ofcom will have to change its attitude towards GB News as the general election approaches, says Stewart Purvis. "Having just stepped into public life, Magyar is still unknown and somewhat of an enigma. On the one hand, he is extraordinarily ...
A few years ago social housing campaigner Kwajo Tweneboa appeared on daytime TV, he's been on several current affairs programmes fighting the good fight for council and housing association tenants. Kwajo's great, we need more people like him. Across the desk was Reform UK's Ben Habib, looking particularly gormless and for a few minutes he ... Continue reading Bigmouth strikes again
Here's a quintet of things I've read this week to entertain you and make you think this weekend: Gender Budgeting in active travel Engender's Feminist Five pointed me in the direction of this article by Tiffany Lam, the Strategy Lead for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at Sustrans, the custodians of the National Cycle Network. She writes about the need for gender budgeting to consider the needs of women if we are going to increase the numbers of women cycling. Currently, twice as many men as women cycle. Is that because men are less likely to be doing the weekly shop ...
Lib Dem MSP Liam McArthur will this week publish his bill to introduce assisted dying for people with a terminal illness in Scotland. The Sunday Show devoted its entire programme to the issue today. First, Susie McAllister, who nursed her husband Colin who died of stomach cancer last year, spoke of how grim the last two weeks of his life was and how he wanted to end his suffering. There have been a number of attempts to change the law in Scotland on this over the lifetime of the Parliament. Liam said that he could now feel that the political ...
Lib Dem Councillor Aude Boubaker-Calder took a motion to Fife Council this week calling for an end to bullying, misogyny and discrimination against women in public life. Aude described some of the dreadful behaviours she has experienced, including being mocked because of her Belgian accent. She told the meeting: Today, I rise here not just as an elected councillor, but as a woman. As we celebrate Women's History Month, I think it's essential to reflect not only on the progress we've made but also on the challenges that persist in our society and particularly in politics. Incidents we have witnessed ...
The opening of Richard Jefferies's After London is a remarkable piece of writing. In an early essay in science fiction - the book was published in 1885 - Jefferies describes how nature takes over when man stops tending the fields after some unnamed natural catastrophe. We then see what human life has become after this change, and it's no rural idyll. Jefferies hero then goes on a journey and finds the remains of London covered by stagnant waters - it's as though Cobbett's 'Great Wen' has burst. These later episodes fail to keep up the standard of the book's opening, ...
Do the residents of Royal York Crescent in Clifton, Bristol have too much time on their hands or have they stumbled onto a genuine sradonic tribute? According to the Guardian a mysterious plaque has appeared on a bench there outing an adulterous husband: The brass plate engraved with "For My Love/Husband, Father, Adulterer/Yes, Roger, I Knew" quickly attracted attention after it was attached to a wooden bench on the grand crescent's terrace at the end of last week. Most residents doubt its authenticity. Rachel Weaver-Tooley, whose balcony flat overlooks the bench, points to the date of Roger's birth on the ...
United States The Ukraine aid bill is starting to inch its way through the American House of Representatives. Up until this week the $60 billion much-needed package has been blocked by Speaker Mike Johnson's refusal to allow Congress a vote on the issue. He also tied the aid bill (which also includes money for Israel and Taiwan) to tougher laws on immigration. This has clearly been done in collusion with Donald Trump who opposes aid to Ukraine and wants to delay any agreement on immigration so that he can make it his key election issue. Senate Republicans have already passed ...
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 BT cabling works being carried out HEREBY PROHIBIT the driving of any vehicle in Seafield Road (between Perth Road and number 31), Dundee. This notice comes into effect on Tuesday 26 March 2024 for one day. Pedestrian thoroughfare will be maintained. Alternative routes for vehicles are available via Perth Road / Roseangle / Bellefield Avenue / Seafield Road. For further information contact 433082. Executive Director of ...
