This is a superior video from the Rediscovering Lost Railways YouTube account. It's notable not so much for the relics it finds as for the period video and stills that show the line in operation. The Wisbech and Upwell Tramway, which opened in 1883, was almost six miles in length and ran between those two settlements. It gave up running passenger trains in 1927, but it continued carrying goods (mainly agricultural produce) until 1966. The Rev. W. Awdry was vicar of Emneth near Wisbech between 1953 and 1965, and included two tramway engines in his books because he had seen ...
Content warning: This is a horrible passage of 19th-century history. A number of factors combined in crinolines to make them a ridiculously dangerous death trap for anyone wearing them. During the peak of their popularity they killed at least 3000 people in the UK alone according to an 1860 article in the Lancet, and in 1864 a Bulgarian doctor reported that over the previous 14 years he believed that at least 39,927 women had died in crinoline fires. This is from a horrifying article in the Christmas Fortean Times. Crinolines - stiff petticoats worn to hold out a skirt - ...
The Liberal Democrat MP for Eastbourne, Josh Babarinde was on Good Morning earlier today to talk about the Domestic Abuse Bill he is looking to pilot through the Commons. As he explains in the video, there is currently no separate offence of domestic abuse. This means that abusers are convicted of something like actual bodily harm, with the result that they cannot be excluded from early-release schemes and the like. With the new clarity a separate offence would bring, survivors of domestic abuse could be better protected. A website has been set up to support the campaign for an offence ...
Trigger warning – this post contains some distressing details about torture. Wherever events in Syria are being discussed by western media and politicians, one question is asked over and over again: 'What will happen next?' A number of commenters on my previous article asked it, I've received it from friends and family and I see it all over social media. But this isn't a neutral question, whatever the intent of the person asking it. The inference is that 'we've been here before, and look what happened'. Often it's accompanied by the explicit 'Syria might end up like Libya'... I do ...
Bashar al-Assad has fled, and HTS fighters, backed by Turkey, have taken control of Damascus. It immediately brought to mind the fall of Kabul to the Taliban only a few years ago—how quickly power shifted with little resistance. Afghanistan fell to the Taliban then, and now it seems Damascus may fall to HTS. Yet, this isn't just a repeat of history; it's a far more complex situation. Let me be clear: Bashar al-Assad was no saint. He was a dreadful leader, willing to commit unspeakable atrocities to cling to power. Yet, I genuinely expected him to fight harder to retain ...
Here we come! We pilgrims flock in Angel's tight-packed brick embrace to witness: passion bind with process, harmonies combine, victory arise... Or learn through suffering
Fraser's weekly ward surgeries take place later today and every Tuesday during school term time. They are as follows : Tuesdays at 5pm prompt - Blackness Library Tuesdays at 5.45pm prompt - Ancrum Road Primary School All residents welcome - no appointment necessary.
The Guardian tell us that images of arrested people who were innocent of any crimes are still being stored in a police database that may be used for facial recognition purposes. They say that in 2012, the high court ruled that keeping the images of people who faced no action or who were charged and then acquitted was unlawful. However, despite the ruling, custody images of innocent people are still on the Police national database, which is available to all UK police forces and selected law enforcement agencies. They add that the images can be used for facial recognition checks ...
