Reform continue to block journalists from doing their jobThe Mirror reports that the Reform UK leadership of a council which blocked a journalist who reported on a pensioner's row with the local authority is being urged to U-turn. The paper says that Local Democracy Reporter Eddie Bisknell told how an 81-year-old woman won a legal battle with Derbyshire County Council over a garden fence, but Reform UK's administration, which runs the local authority, now says it will not engage with the journalist after what it characterised as "a prolonged period of concerns": The decision has prompted a backlash, including from the Society of Editors (SoS), which champions press ... (more) |
A ghost sign near Parliament Hill FieldsI've just got back from London after a walk and boozy meal with Liberator friends. On the walk, I spotted this ghost sign near Parliament Hill Fields. (more) |
Turns out I was worrying about the Gell-Mann amnesia effectEmbed from Getty ImagesI suggested a couple of days ago that: Becoming very knowledgeable about a niche subject is worrying, because you find much that has been published about it is wrong. And then it become more worrying, because you suspect this is true of every subject if only you knew. A reader kindly sent me a link to an old Wikipedia page on the Gell-Mann amnesia effect: The Gell-Mann amnesia effect is a claimed cognitive bias describing the tendency of individuals to critically assess media reports in a domain they are knowledgeable about, yet continue to trust reporting in ... (more) |
Observations of an ex pat: Stormy Red SeaOh, for the days of the British Empire. A protectorate in Egypt and Sudan. British troops at both ends of the Red Sea — Egypt and Suez in the west, Aden and Somaliland in the east. Trade flowed relatively freely between Europe and Asia. Today's picture is less simple. The immediate problem is the conflict between the Iranian-backed Houthis on one side and the internationally recognised Yemeni government and its Saudi allies on the other. But it is far more complicated than that. The Iran War has increased the importance of the Red Sea as an alternative outlet for Gulf ... (more) |
Exploring the history of old Tottenham with John RogersJohn Rogers takes us on a tour through the history of Tottenham in North London, partly in search of St Loy's Well. The walk's blurb on YouTube says: Starting at Bruce Castle one of the two largest Tudor houses in Greater London making Tottenham an important centre of London history. Our Tottenham history walk then takes in All Hallows Church, Lordship Lane Rec and talk about Tottenham resident Luke Howard and his classification of clouds. We then visit Luke Howard's home in Bruce Grove. Walking down the ancient High Road Tottenham we talk about the various royal associations as we ... (more) |
Some of the churches of GowerHistorically, culturally and geographically, the Gower peninsula is a story in two parts. The southern part has most of the beaches, a lot of fertile land and its churches tend to be mainstream Church-in-Wales, politically it is quite Conservative. The north tends to have more sheep and traditional employment, is home to the area's cockle industry, non-conformist chapels and tends to vote Labour. Of course, these are generalisations but ones that help us to understand the various religious buildings that we can find there. Mumbles, which sits on the south-eastern edge of the peninsula contains All Saints, a major Church-in-Wales ... (more) |