When Market Harborough first competed in the Leicestershire chess league in the mid Seventies, a stalwart member of our team was the Reverend Fisher from Husbands Bosworth. He was a kindly man - everyone's idea of a country vicar. I wish I had known he was called Ruggles (as more people should be), but he was always the Reverend Fisher to me in those days. I knew he had retired to Oakham and had lived to celebrate his 100th birthday. When I thought of him again today, I found his obituary in the Church Times. He died in December 2022 ...
I've expressed before my surprise at the way the banks have been able to walk away from the high street with barely a comment, let alone criticism, from politicians. The result of this move has been to force people into banking online, some of whom have little knowledge of the digital world and are not street smart, web smart or whatever we want to call it, At least, I have thought till now, the banks are good at reimbursing customers who've been the victim of fraud. Now come news from the Guardian that an organisation called the Payment Services Regulator ...
Wed 4th
19:30
Norfolk Lib Dems stand down in favour of Independent by-election candidate in Lib Dem seat
Those who follow local elections may remember a striking victory last August, when John Crofts gained the Conservative-held Norfolk County Council ward Freebridge Lynn for the Liberal Democrats. The sad news is that John died recently. You can read some moving tributes to him in the Lynn News. So there is to be another Freebridge Lynn by-election and, reports the Eastern Daily Press, this time there will be no Lib Dem candidate. Instead, the party has endorsed the Independent candidate Simon Ring. Brain Watkins, leader of the Lib Dem group on Norfolk County Council, explains why: "It's tragic that John ...
Our second maiden speech of the day comes from Chris Coghlan, our new MP for Dorking and Horley, also in the technology in public services debate. He talked about the lack of support for those with special educational needs in Surrey and highlighted the harrowing murder of his constituent's autistic son who had not been able to get the support he needed. Maiden speech: how I'm working cross-party with @Jeremy_Hunt to protect our most vulnerable citizens in support of courageous campaigning by Fiona Laskaris following the terrible murder of her autistic son Christopher in 2016. @hilarybennmp has been a wonderful ...
(click on photos for links to item) The last of this year's Little Egret hand modified lino cuts prints : This Spring (2024) a small flock of Little Egrets visited the flooded fields nearby, grazing in the shallow waters for several weeks. Little Egrets can often be found in the bird reserves near Glastonbury and, as a birdwatcher, I was delighted to be able to see these birds close to home and they inspired this linocut of a wading Little Egret by me. This hand modified linocut print is left loose in a card mount so it can either be ...
Lib Dem Alex Eyre held off a huge challenge from Reform to hold the Priory Ward in Swale in one of those rare Tuesday by-elections. The by-election came about after Cllr and former Mayor Mike Henderson died. Our Cllr Hannah paid tribute to Mike at the time: Mike was a dedicated public servant who has worked hard for the people of Faversham, and especially those in the Priory ward. We have lost a huge part of our local Lib Dem team and doing local politics won't be quite the same without him, his sage advice, quick wit, kindness and the ...
It's the new parliamentary term at Holyrood as well and today the troubled SNP Government unveils its Programme for Government. Alex Cole-Hamilton said, ahead of the debate this afternoon: The SNP's offer is about as inspiring as the ferries they've botched and the rail fares they've hiked. Despite having had so many chances to get things right, the SNP have managed to mess it up every single time. They are taking everyone for granted. People want to see an end to long waits for NHS treatment and a competent plan to fix social care, getting people the care they need ...
Poor Larry. The undisputed king of Downing Street has seen off many rivals, but is he now getting a bit old to deal with a feisty kitten and its older sidekick? The Independent reports that the veteran mouser faces fresh competition for his following the news that Keir Starmer is bringing a new kitten home. The paper says that the Prime Minister has let his children get the kitten after "a long summer of negotiations", meaning Larry will welcome a long-awaited recruit: The prime minister said he had come around to getting the new family pet after his children had ...
Residents will recall that, back in April, we pointed out that tenants with mobility difficulties who use the Corso Street sheltered lounge and access it using the path down from the lock-ups above had no handrail to hold onto walking up and down the slope. We asked the City Council to consider installing a handrail which was agreed. We are pleased to say that this has now been installed as the "before" and "after" photographs show.
