Click on the image above to go to a short BBC film about Lyddington Bede House in Rutland. The Bede House was originally a palace of the Bishops of Lincoln, but after the dissolution of the monasteries it was converted into almshouses. This is a chance for me to remind you about the BBC Rewind site, which stuffed with good things like this.
Sun 30th
19:16
Defra tries, fails to keep secret a poll used to justify legislation - The Week in Polls
The latest edition of my weekly political polling round-up, The Week in Polls, is out. As it says: Welcome to the 154th edition of The Week in Polls (TWIP) which takes a look at an attempt by the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) to withhold polling information – and reveals the poll they did not want us to see actually says. Find out more by reading this edition of The Week in Polls here, and you can sign up below to receive future editions direct to your email inbox:
There were 3 principal council by-elections this week. We stood candidates in all of them and achieved some really positive results. We also had success in a number of Town and Parish council by-elections too. First of all congratulations to our candidate Howard Evans and the Lib Dem team in Swansea who finished second in the Penllergaer by-election. Despite not fielding a candidate when this seat was last contested, we finished second out of seven candidates beating Labour, the Conservatives, Reform and the Green Party. The seat was held by Swansea Independents. But it is a brilliant achievement by Howard ...
Another story apparently involving overzealous policing, this time from the Guardian:The parents of a nine-year-old girl have said they were held at a police station for 11 hours because they complained about their daughter's primary school. Maxie Allen and his partner, Rosalind Levine, said they were arrested and detained on suspicion of harassment, malicious communications and causing a nuisance on school property. The couple said they had previously been banned from entering Cowley Hill primary school in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire after criticising the school's headteacher and leadership in a parents' WhatsApp group, according to the Times.Richard Bartholomew makes an interesting comment ...
Every day is a school day as someone once said to me. And it is very true. Each day gives us a fantastic opportunity to reflect on life, our behaviour and attitude. It is true that it is not always easy to change as we all have a personality and unique DNA, which in many ways defines how we act or conduct ourselves in a wide range of situations. A week or so ago, I was having a conversation with a few work colleagues. It was nice, informal as one of our staff members was about to start a maternity ...
Fairly or not, I have Jon Bon Jovi down as one of those white American "let's raaq" artists that made us welcome grunge so much. But I've always liked this track because of the guitar sound. I used to assume it had been sampled from some old bluesman, but I think the truth is that it's just Jon Bon Jovi playing with the help of a little recording wizardry. Incidentally, Jon Bon Jovi was born John Bongiovi, and adopted his stage name so people would pronounce his real name correctly. Less spectacularly, Spencer Davies became Spencer Davis for the same ...
I was delighted to be present at an event on Thursday when Leaders from Liverpool and the Isle of Man vowed that a new agreement between the city region and the island finance hub will boost both economies and strengthen cultural ties. Readers may recall that I went to the Isle of Man last autumn as the guest of the Mayor of Douglas. This was all part of the friendship build up in which we recognise the importance of our relationship to the Isle of Man to our own economy. Every month the Manx Government spends £2,000,000 in our health ...
Tariffs There is a major contradiction at the core of the tariffs that Donald Trump announced this week. Trump says that the tariffs have the dual purpose of revitalising American industry—especially the car industry—and raising billions in tax revenues which will allow him to cut other taxes. The problem is that one will cancel out the other. If, as hoped, Americans eschew foreign cars to buy American, then other countries will stop exporting their cars (and car components) to the US. Thus the revenue from tariffs will substantially decline. Trump vs Europe If Europe wanted more reasons to re-evaluate its ...
With thanks to Davie Muir, Ron Smith and Lost Dundee, a great photo looking down Lochee Road from the junction with Dudhope Terrace - 1950s.
The Independent takes us back to the first real controversy of this Labour Government, when MPs voted against lifting the two child benefit cap. The paper says that figures from the Department for Work and Pensions have revealed that the number of children living in poverty across the UK has reached a new record high with some 4.45m children estimated to be in households in relative low income, after housing costs, in the year to March 2024. They add that this is up from the previous record of 4.33m in the 12 months to March 2023 and is the highest ...
