Welcome to my day: 27 April 2026 - waiting for a train...Good morning, gentle reader, and I trust that you had an enjoyable weekend, not forgetting that, for some, perhaps many, of you, it wasn't particularly restful. We're in the end stage of election campaigns across Britain, with postal votes hitting doormats last week. That said, for the gallant trio of Liberal Democrat parliamentarians running the London Marathon yesterday, they'll be hoping for a short week and a seat on the train back to their constituencies. Their times, for those of you who might be interested, were as follows: Helen Morgan – 4:20:22 Tom Gordon – 4:29:13 Wendy Chamberlain – 5:07:49 ... (more) |
Climate change versus economic growth, a dilemma?The Guardian reports that the government department responsible for a decarbonised economy powered by clean, renewable energy is at odds with that intention of making the UK an AI. superpower, with those responsible for the two visions not agreeing on their numbers. They say that the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) thinks AI datacentres will consume 6GW of electricity by 2030, while the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) appears to think they will use less than a tenth of that: Tim Squirrell, the head of strategy for the NGO Foxglove, said: "The government's cluelessness over ... (more) |
Bridgnorth's New Market Hall is on the Victorian Society's list of endangered buildingsThe Victorian Society has named its list of the Top Ten Endangered Buildings for 2026, reports Herald Wales. Perhaps the most striking structure included is the Tees Transporter Bridge, Middlesbrough, but my eye was also struck by the presence of Bridgnorth's New Market Hall. The revised Shropshire Pevsner is honest about it: Of 1855-6, the magnum opus of a local man, Robert Griffiths of Quatford. In the grossest Italianate with an angle tower with typical Victorian-Italian roof. The material is yellow brick, blue brick and red brick. For Pevsner the whole seemed artless and tasteless, though not over decorated. Yet ... (more) |
The Dam Busters' training was a spectator sport for Great EastonEyebrook Reservoir Dam: John Fielding Being a well-prepared visitor, I brought the Harborough District Council leaflet about Great Easton with me yesterday. And here's an interesting snippet from it about a nearby reservoir: For several months in 1943 up to a dozen Lancaster bombers regularly used Eyebrook Reservoir as a training ground prior to setting off on the famous Ruhr "Dam Busters Raid". Initially the low flying night flights caused considerable disturbance to the surrounding villages. However local residents, who recognised their sleep would be interrupted, regularly congregated around the lakeside to witness the spectacular rehearsals. Discover Rutland says: Practice ... (more) |
Maybe Europe is winning after all?Today when I should have been enjoying the non-monetary benefits of Wimbledon Common I was instead getting depressed by The Economist, which I listen to as I walk. It isn't difficult to be depressed: the world is full of shitty news. But the particular theme that got me this week was the way Europe had regulated itself into "American vassalage". Thanks to a longstanding habit of stifling its companies with rules, red-tape and risk-aversion, the Old Continent is now utterly reliant on the New for its high-end digital services, its energy, even its payment systems. The UK and Europeans are ... (more) |
String Driven Thing: It's a GameSomeone posted a track by String Driven Thing on Bluesky the other day and I wondered why I knew the name. And then I remembered this. It's a Game was covered by the Bay City Rollers in 1977 and provided them with their last top 20 hit. But I already knew the song, so this original version by String Driven Thing must have received airplay in 1973, even though it didn't make the charts. String Driven Thing began as a folk trio, but were encouraged by their record company to adopt the folk rock sound that you hear on It's ... (more) |
Tom Arms' World ReviewUnited States Mid-term election fever is starting to grip America. And it comes at a time when American's trust in their electoral system – the cornerstone of any democratic state – is plummeting. It is still six months before Americans troop to the polls to elect a third of their senators and all the members of the House of Representatives. But the candidates are busy at the hustings. This is mainly because American elections are a two-stage affair. Stage one the parties vote to decide who will be their candidate and in stage two the winners of the "primaries" compete ... (more) |
#interrail2026 - starting with a near facepalm...So, here I am, on the 09.41 from Ipswich to Liverpool Street, about to embark on another "epic" train journey. And yet, I nearly fell at the first hurdle... You know how it is. Working out what to pack, making sure that you've got the right cables for your various bits of IT, checking that your passport is valid, all of these elements that, if missed, might cause inconvenience at some unwelcome point in a trip. But, I was somewhat better organised this time, and was packed the day before leaving - Ros's organisational skills might be rubbing off at ... (more) |
The Falklands are under threat again and we can't rely on America to save usI'll be honest. When I first started researching hypersonic missiles and the Falkland Islands, it felt like a subject more suited to a defence think-tank than a Lib Dem blog. But the events of the past 48 hours have changed my mind and I think they should change yours too. Argentine President Javier Milei has declared that he is doing "everything humanly possible" to return the Falklands to Argentine hands. That alone would be manageable. What is far more alarming is the backdrop: a leaked Pentagon memo has proposed withdrawing American diplomatic support for British sovereignty over the islands as ... (more) |
Opinion polling in wartimeThe Gallup team polling Britons during the Second World War on their views: [IMG: Gallup pollsters in wartime] A pollster next to a destroyed building. Taken from Behind the Gallup Poll by Henry Durant, 1951 (intermittently available from second-hand booksellers). (more) |