I have mentioned before my epiphany, about 40 years ago, that reading novels for pleasure might be a good thing - both intellectually improving and enjoyable. At the time I cast around for guidance on what I should read, with the aim of becoming WELL READ. Among my discoveries was a short volume by Anthony Burgess, 99 novels: the best in English since 1939, a personal choice. Given that Burgess was a famous novelist and respected critic, I figured he should know what he was talking about and resolved to work my way through his list. I learned later that ...
Well that headline is a sentence I never thought I'd write. And I have to admit that when I first saw the press release announcing it, I rather involuntarily invoked the name of the person we celebrate at this time of year at volume. Then I thought "No, please, not Sweet Caroline." However, I remembered that generosity is key to the spirit of Christmas and when I looked into it some more, I discovered that, actually, Ed's collaboration with Bath Philarmonia's Young Carers' Choir is pretty decent. "Love is enough" falls into the category of heartwarming Christmas songs rather than ...
[IMG: ALDC MP cards gift photo] Five Christmas, birthday, wedding, graduation, driving test pass, citizenship acquisition or candidate selection victory gift ideas for that special person you know. (And more tasteful than some festive options.) Top Trumps the Lib Dem way No need to be bored with Monopoly this Christmas. Get a set of 72 Top Trump style cards, one for each and every Liberal Democrat MP, from ALDC. Give the gift of knowledge Polling knowledge, that is, with a gift subscription to The Week in Polls. Read by pollsters, journalists, politicians and thousands of voters, my weekly newsletter gives ...
This Parliament, anything less than 3 Lib Dems at PMQs is a disappointment – a benefit of having 72 MPs. For the third time since the General Election it was a Lib Dem who kicked off proceedings. Daisy Cooper took the opportunity to ask the PM about her local hospital: Today, I called on the PM to finally give the green light for a new hospital in West Herts [IMG: 🏥] The last Conservative govt promised it but failed to deliver it – despite my asking close to twenty times. We're shovel ready: we just need the new govt to ...
Life as a young carer was tough, but it was also full of love. Tomorrow, Bath Philharmonia Young Carers' Choir and I are releasing a Christmas single - "Love is Enough" - in support of @bathphil and @CarersTrust. I can't wait for you to hear it! pic.twitter.com/CTBEYXFR5m — Ed Davey (@EdwardJDavey) November 27, 2024 From the Guardian this evening: When already this year you've bungee-jumped, jetskied and led your party to its best election result for a century, how can you possibly top that as a politician? If you are Ed Davey, the answer is obvious: try for a Christmas ...
[IMG: Jonathan Waters - photo credit Jonathan Waters] A news release from Chesham and Amersham Liberal Democrats brings the news: Cllr Jonathan Waters, Deputy Cabinet Member at Buckinghamshire Council, has joined the Liberal Democrats after resigning from the Conservatives. Cllr Waters says ,"The Conservative leadership has stopped listening to our residents. It has become clear to me that it is the Liberal Democrats who are the community champions here in Buckinghamshire. "It is the Liberal Democrats that follow the core principles that I value in politics: listening to residents, working with them, seeking solutions to local problems and working hard ...
Last night the House of Commons passed the Bill which would introduce a smoke free generation by prohibiting the sale of tobacco to anyone born after 2009. This is one of those issues where you can reach either conclusion from Liberal principles. This is why it was a free vote in Parliament. So how did Liberal Democrat MPs vote? 38 voted in favour, 7 voted against and 27 did not vote. Those in favour: Steff Aquarone, Alison Bennett, Jess Borwn-Fuller, Charlotte Cane, David Chadwick, Danny Chambers, Victoria Collins, Daisy Cooper, Adam Dance, Steve Darling, Lee Dillon, Sarah Dyke, Richard Foord, ...
What strikes me about those top-of-the-bill films is how vividly the villains are painted. Dirk Bogarde in The Blue Lamp, for instance, remains sexy and dangerous more than 70 years on. The good young character he is contrasted with, a trainee constable played by Jimmy Hanley, appears utterly insipid, but then I suspect he did when the film was released. Other villains from this era to seek out are Peter Sellers (playing it utterly straight and with a Liverpool accent) in Never Let Go (1960) and Ronald Ward in Ealing's racing drama The Rainbow Jacket (1954): "There's a certain gentleman ...
Chloe Holland, 23, from Portsmouth, took her own life after being coercively controlled by her abuser (Sharon Holland) Last Saturday I attended the 25th Anniversary of the foundation of the South Liverpool Domestic Abuse Service. A great time was had by all. As one of only three men there I was pressed into service on the dance floor to conduct my normal useless jigging around! More seriously I was distressed to hear that domestic abuse is actually getting worse and a major cause of that is the tension that arose from confinement to home during Covid. In some ways this ...
With Lord Bonkers taking such an interest in the animal kingdom - whether it's farming it, conversing with it or eating it - it was inevitable that he would be drawn to the new MP for Winchester, who practised as a vet for 16 years before his election. And attentive readers of this blog will remember the story about the penguins at the Sea Life London Aquarium. Tuesday "No," I told Danny Chambers on the phone. "It's out of the question. I've only just got rid of a colony of Hegelian beavers. I'm not taking in seventeen penguins." "But if ...
I am, allegedly, a responsible adult. At least, I am the Chair of a Parish Council which should, theoretically, make me a responsible adult - I leave that to others to judge. But, in planning our trip to Tirana, I had suffered something of a diary malfunction which meant that, whilst I was starting my day with an excellent breakfast in our Tirana hotel, I was supposed to be finishing it at a Council meeting in Creeting St Peter. And, given that we're a councillor short, we don't have a lot of wriggle room in terms of absences. There is ...
The 2024 West End Christmas Fortnight starts tomorrow! 4pm to 8pm this Thursday - Winter WestFest! With thanks to our friends at WestFest, the Perth Road is to be transformed into a winter wonderland, with buildings and shops illuminated and festive images projected onto prominent sites between Miller's Wynd and Sinderins. For one night only, the Dundee WestFest team will provide an enchanting start to the West End Christmas Fortnight, with its first-ever Winter WestFest event, featuring a festive light trail alongside the traditional Christmas market in Miller's Wynd car park. Santa will also be appearing on his sleigh to ...
With charities, businesses, the tourist and hospitality sector, doctor surgeries, social care providers and many others assessing the impact of the Labour's increase in employers' national insurance contributions on their future viability, it transpires that some less=deserving professions are excluded from the revenue-raising measure altogether. The Guardian reports that well-paid City lawyers and other self-employed partners at businesses including top accountancy and private equity firms have been spared the increases to national insurance contributions announced in October's budget, in a move that will deny the Treasury "billions" of pounds of potential revenue. The paper says that members of limited liability ...
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