Cameron: for sunshire, against rain
There's a lot of humour about this evening. Fresh from Mr Tall's multimedia ironing extraveganza comes the latest on David Cameron, man of substance, from those scamps over at Liberal Democrat Voice. Sunday 1st October 2006
11:45 pm
There's a lot of humour about this evening. Fresh from Mr Tall's multimedia ironing extraveganza comes the latest on David Cameron, man of substance, from those scamps over at Liberal Democrat Voice. 11:04 pm
I do my own washing up too
Perhaps I should try to become Tory leader too like Mr Cameron and his lovely washing up webcam website? P.S. But I can't iron as well as Mr Tall. I'm too short. 10:22 pm
Salmond calls in the Inquisition
Prior to Mike Russell's new book seeing the light of day, Alex Salmond went through the draft with a red pen, marking sections he deemed inappropriate: The notes, which the Sunday Herald possesses, are broken down into code. Salmond marked key passages with “VD”, which stands for very dangerous, while other paragraphs were given a “D” for dangerous. A third category, “RH”, stood for relatively 10:20 pm
I Smirt, You Stooze, They Krump
A new book is published tomorrow called "I Smirt, You Stooze, They Krump". According to the PR blub "Smirt" apparently describes people who flirt while they smoke outside their office buildings or pubs "Stooze" is a verb describing the practice of taking advantage of introductory interest free periods offered by credit card companies, to borrow money that is then invested elsewhere for profit. and "Krump" is to dance, sometimes wearing face paint, in a fast and aggressive style, mimicking a fight but remaining non-violent. Anyone who wants to pick up a copy can see it here on Amazon 10:03 pm
New vidcast - my take on Webcameron
Y'know, I'm not so sure this was such a good idea. But - what the hell - here goes: PS: Will Howells' rather excellent take is well worth watching here. 9:59 pm
New Scottish Blogging Roundup
A new weekly roundup of Scottish political blogging has been started by Doctor Vee and Curious Hamster. Very welcome it is too. 9:45 pm
The End for Sheridan
The News of the World have been supplied with a taped conversation in which Sheridan admits both to visiting Cupids, and to his intention to deny it in court. You can listen to it here if so inclined. He's denying it's genuine. But then he would, wouldn't he. It sounds pretty convincing to me. Hat tip to Holyrood Chronicles. 9:27 pm
When words are not necessary
Pictures can say a thousand words. Times Online, Peter Brooks - Cartoon gallery 8:46 pm
War on poverty no one knows about
At the Liberal Democrat conference the party voted for a radical change in tax policy. By taking the low paid out the tax altogether, the party declared a war on poverty. Instead of people relying on State benefits or tax credits, people would have more money in their pockets. The party is trusting people to use the money wisely and even if they don't it is setting them free. The party is 8:40 pm
Is he Worthy ? Worthington leaves Norwich City
I felt for Nigel Worthington today as I left Carrow Road. I watched him standing forlornly by the side of the pitch rather like the Captain of the Titanic on the Bridge of the ship as it sank. That was, I did feel for him as a person, but as a manager, I felt very let down by him. With 20 minutes to go, he brought on poor old Andy Hughes, the butt of many fans jeers and jokes, a player who always gives 100%, but is far from consistent enough to gain the fans love or trust. At ... 8:27 pm
Fakenham Road Drayton - Why is it being dug up aga...
Going to the football today, we got stuck in traffic, outside Budgens on Fakenham Road. Why ? Because they were digging up exactly the same bit of road that they dug up and re-laid the tarmac just last Wednesday, when similarly, there were massive traffic jams. No wonder people get frustrated with road works, especially when the same bit of road is dug up and re-laid twice in four days !!!!!! 7:52 pm
Did he really just say that?
At last year's Tory conference, David Cameron wooed the party faithful with a carefully-rehearsed "look-mum-no-notes" speech. It worked brilliantly for him. But it contained one of the most emptily emetic lines of political rhetoric ever deployed by a politician hoping one day to occupy the highest office in the land: "Let's dream a new generation of Conservative dreams."Frankly, I didn't think 7:50 pm
Riverside Drive and Tay Talk-In ...
A couple of issues in the Riverside Drive area: * A member of West End Community Council has contacted me about a small piece of land where Scottish Water planted roses some time ago. From Magdalen Green, its across the rail bridge between it and the changing rooms where the former Water Board built a Pump-House for the pipe system under the railway. Anyway, the roses are now completely choked with weeds and the area to the west is also covered in broken glass and old fork-lift wooden carrying trays. Anyway, I've reported this to Scottish Water's Business ... 7:24 pm
Bournemouth: No cheer for "liberal conservatism"
I watched Cameron's speech on BBC Parliament. As a snapshot, these things got much applause, often without a suggestive pause from Cameron: Praise for ThatcherA call for parents to bring children up with the right values"We've got to stop selling alcohol to children""We need less violent and homophobic lyrics in the music industry"...all those statements were heartily applauded. Then Monsieur 7:07 pm
Despite the jet lag, I planted some trees!
I have decided to offset the carbon emissions from my trip to the USA. Given that it involved a round trip to San Francisco, and then a 3,000 mile drive in a sports car, I thought it would be wise to try and balance out the CO2 emissions. I found a great site, and did just that! I’m not going to say that it’s “ethical” to offset CO2. I don’t think that there are many ethical absolutes (if any at 7:00 pm
Mr Balloon: A Political Heavyweight
When I wrote earlier that Mr Cameron’s pronouncements on climate change are just hot air, I was of course inspired by Millennium thinking of him as ‘Mr Balloon’. Liberal Review reveals today that The Observer has joined those reading Millennium… The media people at Newsnight are already fans. Millennium’s simple theory (with evidence) on where Mr Balloon’s message comes from in the absence of any ideas of his own is the basis of this nomenclature, and I’ve drawn a graphic representation. It’s not as colourful as the Observer cartoon, but should anyone wish to borrow it, you have my blessing. ... 6:32 pm
I'm back
I'm back! California (and Arizona and Nevada for a day or two) was fantastic. So thrilling, in fact, that I could write for pages and pages about it. But I won't, because I have found from bitter experience that there is little worse in the world than hearing somebody else drone on about their holidays until you wish they were still thousands of miles away from you. Suffice to say that the 5:51 pm
What better day than a Sunday to learn
that one of your posts has been included in Carnival of the Godless. Good of you all to visit, but for a project you can really get behind pop on over to The Beagle Project. We're building a replica of HMS Beagle for launch in 2009, the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin. 5:50 pm
Jane Eyre
As I write BBC1 is repeating the first episode of its latest adaptation of Jane Eyre. And very good it looks too. I am left wondering again at those who argue that the Victorians had no concept of child abuse - see my discussion here if you are really interested. Do they imagine that the first readers of the novel sympathised with the authorities at Lowood Hall? 5:46 pm
Fr. Kingsley Laws (update)
I've managed to have a rather hectic week which, combined with too much time spent in pubs, has contributed to the decline in posts over the last few days. I shall add more over the next week but thought I'd take this opportunity to reproduce this message from Fr. Kingsley Laws (see my first post) in today's St Thomas' Church Notes and News, "I would like to take this opportunity to thank all 5:46 pm
Another 3 points for Reading
This trip to Upton Park obviously came at the right time with West Ham struggling to find any sort of form. Reading smashed a goal in after two minutes and walked away with all three points taking them to thirteen in all and in seventh place in the Premiership just three points off the top. Reading fans will have been delighted after Alan Pardew ditched them a couple of years ago. According to my son who was at the game Pardew got some stick from the Reading fans but Tevez got even more with the fans singing "You are just ... 5:37 pm
Lord of the Flies
Those nice people at the Guardian gave a way a free DVD of Peter Brook's 1963 film of Lord of the Flies yesterday. I have watched some of it and feel more secure in my theory that Golding's novel was not so much a repository of eternal truths about human nature so much as a reflection of the times in which it was written. One bit of good news: it seems James Aubrey (Ralph in the film) has managed to find work since playing David Chidgey last year. 5:11 pm
Sundays are for blog roundups
Here’s a new blog roundup for Sundays: the Scottish Blogging Roundup, bringing together posts with a particular focus on Scottish politics. It’s brought to you by longstanding Scottish political bloggers doctorvee and Curious Hamster. 5:09 pm
Golf...
People imagine that the Mayor spends a lot of his or her time attending dinners. In fact, yesterday evening was only the second formal dinner I have been to since May. It was the Annual Dinner and Dance at Coombe Hill Golf Club, and I was made very welcome by the Captain, Tommy Kay, and his wife Lesley. We had an excellent meal and some entertaining speeches. I was... 4:16 pm
Roses all the way
The Rose of Kingston will, this week, become a building site once more as the final fit-out begins. To celebrate, about 500 Friends of the theatre gathered inside the unfinished building to sign their names on the floor. David Jacobs (Chair of the Trustees) and I get on our knees! The signatures will be covered up by the new flooring but... 3:53 pm
Cybermen scary? But they drink beer...
With all of the excitement over Dr Who, I note the adverts for a helmet that makes your voice sound like a cyberman . Now I have a great deal of respect for Brian Orrell (pictured, right), but I'm not sure that we all want to sound like him*, do we? * Brian played a Cyber Lieutenant in one series of Dr Who, and a Cyberman in another... 3:52 pm
The sun shone on the parade
Were you woken by that dreadful storm early on Saturday morning? Well, the stalwarts from Surbiton Rotary, and others, were out in Victoria Road at 6am setting up the stalls for the Surbiton Festival. I don't think they had dried out properly even by lunchtime! But the morning stayed dry and was even quite bright for the Parade. RBK1 followed the impressive Royal British... 3:02 pm
The Tories – Just a Blip, or Self-Destructing?
The opinion polls haven’t given a happy start to the Tory Conference, with their temporary lead over Labour gone and Mr Cameron’s popularity falling sharply. It seems that, after a full year of Mr Cameron’s spin that nice noises are enough, people have noticed he has no policies and there’s no substance to him at all. However, I don’t think much of polls, so what about the substance? Well, that’s even less cheering for the Conservatives, because there really isn’t any there at all, and as a result Mr William Hague has just self-destructed messily on The World This Weekend. ... 2:58 pm
Who's the four legged daddy now hey?
It's been another record month for traffic on this blog - see graph. I'm now the biggest blogging liberal pink political dog this side of Dulwich! Move over Paxman! Goodbye Dimbleby! The New Media is coming to get YOU! (With a touch of Web 2.0 thrown in too). And no this DOESN'T mean I'm going to make the font size bigger. If the text is too small for you to read, it means you are TOO OLD. Move away from the keyboard and make room the new generation. At this rate, by Christmas this blog will be even bigger than ... 2:45 pm
Happy millionth birthday…
Many congratulations to the button server for serving over a million button impressions in September. Not a bad start for a small bit of PHP/javascript code initially thrown together one Sunday morning in June! … and you ain't seen nothing yet … 2:21 pm
Birmingham is Best
There have been two surveys recently that have put Birmingham at the top of UK cities as as place to live. I have collated this information on my main reference website (see link). One hobby of various people is to criticise Birmingham. Self-criticism has merits because it facilitates improvement. However, it is worth recognising that the City is a good place to live. We should not be 1:57 pm
At least it's British
Tim Worstall's latest Britblog Roundup is in place. 1:53 pm
Headline of the day
Or headline of last Friday to be exact: David Cameron saved me from a shoal of hideous giant jellyfish 1:20 pm
We prefer whites and we’re not very good - Tory verdict on themselves
Colin Ross has highlighed a rather “frank” comment from the former chair of Wolverhampton SW Tories on his colleagues, calling Tory councillors “far from outstanding” and saying that many Tories prefer white candidates. Hat tip: http://www.colin-ross.org.uk/news/883.html 1:18 pm
Navratri - nine nights of dancing
Navratri is an amazing swirl of colour and dance. For nine nights Hindus gather at Tolworth Recreation Centre from all over South West London to dance, sing and worship, in a joyful festival organised by the Sarvoday Hindu Association. Navratri honours the Mother-Goddess. The saris worn by the women were quite stunning. I was pleased to see so many young people... 12:57 pm
TAP
Friday and Saturday were very busy days, which is why I am catching up with my blogging on Sunday. Thriving businesses are at the heart of Kingston's economic success, but many people never see beyond the retail centres. In fact we have a number of trading estates, two of the largest located in my end of the borough. The Accessory People (TAP) set up their headquarters on... 12:57 pm
Webcameraon
Sometimes you wake up in the morning with an idea that you just can’t resist pursuing, despite the possibility of coming out of it looking like a berk. I’ve had such a morning today, and consequently am now able to present to you Webcameraon. You can also watch on Google Video. (If you have no idea what [...] 12:56 pm
Eve of poll, 2005
Brown and Blair helicoptered into Scarborough to save Lawrie Quinn's parliamentary seat. As predicted here a fortnight before, he lost. The local Labour Party is now in a slough of despond which they're set to make it worse by imposing a women-only shortlist. This has led to a peevish quote by the ex-MP pointing out that he can't evedn try to regain his old seat. Our PPC might be preparing to 12:40 pm
The World's Biggest Coffee Morning
I had never been to Holy Cross Prep School before - what a gem of a building! It was the family home of John Galsworthy, and he wrote The Forsyte Saga whilst living there. In the grounds are the remains of the Ivy Conduit, one of the buildings that serviced the Tudor water pipeline from Coombe Hill that served Hampton Court Palace. The whole school was fully involved in the World's... 12:40 pm
Cameron policy cover-up?
There is a nice tidal wave developing marked "Where's the beef, Dave?" However, I can remember one policy which Cameron has announced - I wonder if anyone can remember any others? The one I remember was announced in late June. Cameron announced he would scrap the Human Rights Act and set up a "British" Bill of Rights. The idea fell apart on a minute's inspection, but one wonders why Dave is so bashful about this idea? Why isn't being presented in depth at the Conservative conference? Also, DC seems to be saying that we should wait patiently for his policy ... 12:30 pm
On the spot fines
The big question about "on the spot fines" is what they replace. If they replace cautions then I would think this is an improvement. If, however, it undermines the severity of offences such as assaulting a police officer then it is a clear deterioration in the message issued by the criminal justice system. 11:46 am
Heading to Bournemouth
Having managed to beat the road closures for the Great North Run this morning, I have now caught the train to London and from there I will head to Bournemouth as an observer at the Cameroonie Policy Free Zone Annual Love Fest.I have looked through the agenda and I kid you not but there are no motions. The Camerlunies have however introduced a novel idea into their conference - voting! Not, I might 11:35 am
PPC ads
The following seats have recently announced they are seeking Prospective Parliamentary Candidates (people to run as the Lib Dem candidate for MP at the next General Election). We list the constituency name, application closing date, and the contact details of the Returning Officer, whom you should contact for an application form. Alrincham & Sale West, 25 Oct, [...] 11:33 am
The Great North Run
Twenty odd years ago today (ish), younger and stupider I was one of the thousands jogging past the start line of this iconic half-marathon. It convinced me never to willingly run a step again. Respect and good luck to all those running today, may your charities prosper and your shin splints heal quickly. 11:21 am
Public meeting 11 Oct: Hither Green policing
Thought I'd give a bit of publicity to a public meeting which the local police have called for 7pm on Wednesday 11 October at St Swithun's Church, Hither Green Lane. This will follow up an earlier meeting on 30 August. The agenda will be: Mission statement for a neighbourhood police committee Police update Parking update Noise enforcement Bellway estate Future plans. All residents in Lewisham Central ward welcome to attend. For more information, please contact Sgt Mark Whitten, Lewisham Central Neighbourhood Team, tel 020872124, e-mail LewishamCentral.SNT@met.police.uk 10:23 am
I'm three today
{Birthday cake} Happy Birthday to me! Happy birthday - well more accurately - to my blog! Three years old today. I do sometimes wonder who reads it. I know several thousand different people do a month - but I don't know if it serves the primary purpose that I started it for. I wanted to give an account of myself and my actions as an elected public servant - particularly to my local residents so that they could see what I did with my time and the role which they had elected me. Obviously, over time, blogs have become ... 10:02 am
Mr Balloon and Other Stories
A keen observer might spot the link between today's Observer cartoon and Millenium Elephant ... 10:02 am
Two Wolverhampton Conservative Councillors far from outstanding says former local party Chair
As the Conservative Party Conference starts this weekend it has come to light that the former Chair of Wolverhampton South West Conservative Party has slammed a number of local Wolverhampton Conservative Councillors on popular Conservative website www.conservativehome.blogs.com 9:27 am
The Cameron effect
As David Cameron prepares the address the Conservative Conference this week for the first time as Leader, he must be aware that the question most people are asking about him is 'Where's the beef?'. The thing is it is not only his opponents and the media who are posing this question, it is members of his own party, and fairly high-ranking members as well. On his blog yesterday, the Conservative Assembly Member for Mid and West Wales, Glyn Davies, joined the distinguished ranks of Cameron-doubters. Under the heading 'Policies would be nice, Mr Cameron', he wrote: David Cameron has ... 9:22 am
Not in gear
The Observer reports that the minister responsible for reducing Britain's traffic casualties has been dropped from launching National Road Safety Week after he made 'irresponsible' comments defending the BBC's Top Gear: Ladyman, the road safety minister, hailing Hammond, 36, as an 'adventurer,' said the programme did not encourage speeding among young men. Mary Williams, chief executive of national road safety charity Brake, said: 'We are alarmed and disappointed that our road safety minister is taking the time to defend Top Gear which quite blatantly glamorises fast cars and in fact knocks the government's very own speed ... 8:52 am
Notsolazyloosmuze.....what's Campbell got that Cameron hasn't?
That David Cameron is a sweetheart - could eat him for breakfast.............but certainly wouldn't keep me going until lunch! A bit like a glass of champagne which is all bubbles tickling your nose and making you giggle, but get to the bottom and there is nothing there. The criticism that Dave is all spin and no substance at last seems to be getting through to the electorate. Where's the beef? No policies just fluffy cuddly words and a nice smile.........to quote a pal.........he's not all that and a bag of chips! The recent YouGov poll found ... 8:36 am
Cameron: We've got no principles or policies, but I've got a wonderful webcam
The Sunday Mirror quotes some of the things David Cameron will say today: In his speech today, Cameron will defend his lack of policies by comparing his drive to reshape the Tories to building a house. "First you prepare the ground," Cameron will tell the Tories faithful. "Then you lay the foundations. And then, finally, brick by brick, you build your house." He will add: "But preparing the ground is just the first stage. Now we must show what we will build there. That means laying strong foundations. Not pulling policies out of a hat. "Policy ... 8:28 am
Blameron…
Stephen Tall's post about Tony and Dave, with that wonderful Time Trumpet clip, reminds me of a morphing experiment that's been sitting on my hard disk for a while… The effect is, to put it mildly, rather disconcerting. If you'd like to have a go at doing a similar morph yourself, check out Debugmode's Winmorph, another one [...] 8:25 am
Another gloomy poll for the Tories
Hot on the heels of yesterday's YouGov poll, an ICM poll in the Sunday Mirror today confirms the slide of the Tories with their lead over Labour 'crashed' to just one point. The Mirror beautifully summarises the Cameron conference dilemma: Today's devastating results for Cameron comes as he battles to prove his party is not a "policy-free zone". He will face a backlash after his Shadow Chancellor George Osborne ruled out tax cuts at the next election. The pledge will put Cameron on a collision course with rightwing Tories at their conference in Bournemouth. It flies in ... 1:07 am
Effectmeasure: bird flu after 22 months.
This article is a must-read. It's an overview of the progress of H5N1 and the lack of preparedness or leadership at all levels in all places. It's accessibly written by a public health expert. If you read nothing else about H5N1, read this. 
12:01 am
Barrett's Home*
So I've been on a bit of a nostalgia-felch courtesy of YouTube tonight... one of the clips I came across was the first pop video I remember: Shakin' Stevens' 1981 hit, This Ole House. I cannot tell you with what innocent wide-eyed amazement I watched Shakey jump off a roof and land with cushioned adroitness. To be honest, nothing that's happened to me since has ever quite lived up to that 
