Hurry over to Harborough FM for the full story and lots of pictures: Concerned members of the public alerted Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service this morning and firefighters arrived on the scene at around 10.30am to start a rescue operation which took two-and-a-half hours. With Dante proving difficult to coax down via a ladder, a passing roofer in a cherry picker offered to help and the male cat was eventually rescued just before 1pm.
There's a question at the heart of this 2007 documentary. Did children become more sophisticated and demand more than simply being read a story, or was it that adults lost confidence in that format and spoilt Jackanory as a result? Whichever view you take, there's a lot to enjoy here - both social history and glimpses of famous figures when they were much younger than we normally see them. So it's worth a watch even if you don't, as I do, remember Little Nose. For more on the history of Jackanory, see my post on the programme's 1969 dramatisation of ...
In a world where chaos and conflict have become a new norm, it's a large crumb of comfort that British politics has changed for the better this year with a change of Government and stellar Lib Dems success at local and national level. On July 4 the Conservatives suffered their worst ever election result since the party formed in 1834 and the Lib Dems enjoyed the best result of any third party in Britain for 100 years. We won 72 seats, to put that in perspective the Lib Dems had won in a total of 88 different seats since the ...
It's become a tradition of mine to pile up the books I've read each year for a once-a-year bookshelf filing binge. Which also means I can handily record in one photograph what I've read in the last year. Here's what 2024 brought: [IMG: Books of 2024] As I had hoped they would (see 2023 below), espionage novels did indeed feature more heavily this years, prompted by the great Spybrary community. Hope you've had as much fun with your books of the year as I've had with mine. If you're getting any books for yourself, if you used these Amazon, Waterstones ...
Many thanks to everyone who has been a reader in 2024, whether on this site, one of my other sites, on email with Liberal Democrat Newswire and The Week in Polls, on social media, or in old and newer book form. Your time, suggestions and feedback are all hugely appreciated, as is the very kind generosity of those who help with the costs of running all this. Thank you, one and all. May your health be good in 2025 and your life feature as much chocolate as you wish. May it also be free of political gaffes involving fictional harbours, ...
Alex Cole-Hamilton sets out the issues the Scottish Lib Dems will be campaigning for in the coming year. They won't come as a surprise to party members – social care, housing, carers, insulation, additional support needs and health services. Here it is in full: This new year comes at something of a critical hour for Scotland. After more than 17 years of SNP mismanagement, so many people feel like nothing works anymore. Many of them are tearing their hair out trying to see a GP or an NHS dentist. Parents are worried about their children's educations and futures. Businesses are ...
Following his Christmas message, Ed Davey's New Year message, as trailed in the Evening Standard, is out: Happy New Year! There's been a lot to celebrate in 2024. Not least a historic general election result, when we defeated the Conservatives and elected the biggest Liberal force in the House of Commons for 100 years. There was England's brilliant run to the final at the Euros. And Team GB made us proud with all those medals in Paris. Plus, I got to bungee jump and record a charity Christmas single! It's certainly been a year of firsts for me, and I ...
In his New Year message, Ed Davey has looked back to the fun and success of 2024 and promises more smiles alongside the hard work in 2025. He calls on Labour to get on with delivering the "change that people are yearning for." The text is below: Happy New Year! There's been a lot to celebrate in 2024. Not least a historic general election result, when we defeated the Conservatives and elected the biggest Liberal force in the House of Commons for 100 years. There was England's brilliant run to the final at the Euros. And Team GB made us ...
Tue 31st
10:37
Subtle details of mitochondrial DNA are revealed showing the underlying biochemical cause of aging
The fact that mitochondria have their own DNA has been known for a number of decades. However, reading that DNA is harder than the nuclear DNA. That is because there are multiple copies of the DNA in individual mitochondria as well as there being more than one mitochondrion in most cells. However, science has now developed techniques for analysing the mitochondrial DNA in quite subtle detail.
It's 31st December - which of course means it's time for me to make a few predictions for the coming year. It's interesting to look over last year's predictions. My cautious optimism that the Lib Dems would take around 25 seats in the General Election was clearly far too cautious, and while we did win all of the constituencies I said we would we did so much better than I dared imagine. However, my prediction that the election result would be hugely disproportionate with Labour "picking up well over 400 seats with 42% of the vote" was more accurate - ...
The traditional New Year Honours list has brought recognition for four Liberal Democrats. Hina Bokhari AM is on her second term as a London Assembly Member. She has a great record within the party for campaigning on diversity and inclusion. Her OBE is given for "services to young People, to charity and to inter-faith relations." Now is a good time to remind you of the articles she has written for us over the years which are full of tips for bringing people together and encouraging understanding. Janet Grauberg is a Lib Dem campaigner in Camden. She lost by only 38 ...
Auld Lang Syne Should auld acquaintance be forgot,And never brought to mind?Should auld acquaintance be forgot,And auld lang syne? CHORUS:For auld lang syne, my dear,For auld lang syne,We'll tak a cup of kindness yet,For auld lang syne! And surely ye'll be your pint-stowp,And surely I'll be mine,And we'll tak a cup o kindness yet,For auld lang syne! We twa hae run about the braes,And pou'd the gowans fine,But we've wander'd monie a weary fit,Sin auld lang syne. We twa hae paidl'd in the burnFrae morning sun till dine,But seas between us braid hae roar'dSin auld lang syne. And there's a ...
The Equality Trust has published new data from the Office for National Statistics which shows that the poorest 10% of households in the UK are still paying a higher proportion of their income in tax than the richest. They say that the UK's tax system is meant to operate progressively, asking the richest to contribute more in order to tax the middle and poorest in society less, which is a principle that is still widely supported by the public, however their analysis found something completely different. They say that: * The poorest 10% of households paid on average 48% of ...
