I had some letters to post tonight, and was very disappointed to see that the second-closest post box to my house (the corner of Gardner Road and Arthur Street) has been taped up. I only have to use this one because the one closest to my house (Clough Drive) was taken away last year. So now this is the second decommissioned post box in twelve months in the 500 yards surrounding my house. And it’s
We know what's going on, me and Wogan. Here is Terry quoted in today's Sunday Telegraph: "As for those much-trumpeted seven-figure deals, I have the suspicion that the corporation is in some cases over-paying. Their excuse is that if they do not offer millions, the opposition will lure the talent away with honeyed words and equally large sums. Frankly the BBC is often giving huge quantities of
I wonder if he's landed yet?
Since I'm revealing guilty secrets, I should possibly also reveal my bordering-on-the-obsession passion for Strictly Come Dancing. Every Saturday night, and every weekday evening, my video now knows to record every ronde, every tantrum, every chicken walk and every bad joke of Bruce's. As a stalwart of a number of online SCD Forums, I have been quite amused by the analysis of the votes which goes on every week as somebody's beloved couple gets knocked out. I would love to see such interest in the vagaries of the political system. Indeed, I am reminded of the many ...
I know the Party has just launched its Green Tax Switch campaign and we're really not in favour of wasteful burning of fuel, so it's not the best time to reveal my guilty secret - my almost lifelong passion for Formula 1. However, today was a sad day, being the end of Michael Schumacher's 15 year career - particularly sad as I feel very old as I was there at the beginning. From his very first race for Jordan, through his seven world championships, his sometimes inexpicably bad behaviour, I have followed every chicane, every pit stop. His ...
I took part in the Green Tax Switch Campaign on Saturday as part of a nationwide campaign to promote the Liberal Democrats proposals to switch to Environmental Taxation. The principle of this new policy is simple. Less tax on good things like working hard to support ourselves and our families and more tax on Pollution. Under these proposals the Liberal Democrats would, take 2 million of the poorest people out of tax altogether and save £1000 on the tax bill of the average family. Of course all this needs to be paid for and so we would shift taxation to ...
I was idling my way through the morning, nothing particularly on my mind, when my attention was attracted by a woman on BBC2, deep in the heart of Burgundy, cooking and drinking good wine. It all looked terribly appealing to this particular bureaucrat. One of the disadvantages of spending my entire life either working or doing politics is that when I finally drag my weary bones home at the end of
I first raised the issue of this BBC phenomena in June. On the 7.35pm BBC1 news tonight we had yet another case of going live to an umbrella - and a pretty boring white umbrella at that. The newsreader crossed live to Westminster and reporter Tina Stiastny. She could have been standing in the Shetland Islands for all we knew, because all you could see behind her was a white umbrella and a minute
Lib Dem Welsh MP Peter Black has a great little TV ad video from across the pond on his website. Politics in America is mired in filth. When desperate men want to win the vote, they will resort to almost anything. Republican Congressman John Doolittle is fighting for his life to hold his seat on Congress - principally due to his support of the War on Terror. He has done little else in office, so the Democrats are whipping his arse! Doolitle states Democrat candidate Charlie Brown supports the North American Man Boy Love Association through his ...
I shall be broadcasting live on Palm FM (105.5 in the south devon area of the United Kingdom) this Friday 27th October, 21.00 hrs - 23.00 hrs GMT, or on the web www.palm.fm click listen live and ...
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. Birmingham Hodge Hill, 11 Nov, [...]
Good news from ePolitix: The Liberal Democrats are to receive a £2m donation from the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust.The gift will be a major boost to the party, which according to its last accounts filed with the Electoral Commission had just under £300,000 at the end of 2005.The trust, a charity which funds research into tackling 'social difficulties', has previously given money to Labour and the
Andrew Rawnsley writes a very authoritative article in the Observer today entitled: Tory taxidermy - how to get yourself stuffed over tax. He argues that Cameron has made a major mistake by setting up all his policy commissions. As they are closely alligned to and associated with him, the public will take their prognostications to be Tory policy or, if Cameron disassociates himself with their
My Grandpa’s recovery continues to confound the medical experts. Having knocked with quite some force on Death’s door on Tuesday, he appears to have hesitated at the prospect of crossing the threshold, and has been making sprightly progress in the opposite direction ever since. He has been decidedly ratty about the whole thing though, as if his plans have been thwarted. For a man who’s power of
It's strangely appropriate that the climate has stopped us leafleting on the weekend that the Green Tax Switch campagin has been hitting full swing. But today the incessant Manchester rain has meant that we didn't get the chance to do the teatime round. Which was a shame, especially since I'd skived off the lunchtime round to watch Manchester United v Liverpool! Still, there seems little point in
I’ve just caught up with the first four episodes of West Wing-creator Aaron Sorkin’s new NBC show, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. And, no, it’s not as good as TWW, but that’s a pretty tough gig to follow. Sorkin can take heart from Joseph Heller: "When I read something saying I've not done anything as good as Catch-22 I'm tempted to reply, 'Who has?'"It’s a problem Sorkin acknowledges up front in
Over the last week I have had a variety of interesting meetings. On Monday Councillor Colin Darracott and myself did a presentation to the University of Bath Students (mainly architecture, engineering and Lib Dems) on the Vision for Bath. Our 20 year startegy that will enable us to successfully redevlope the many opportunity sites that lie awaiting in central Bath. There is the Bath Western...
will like this. I think it's a candidate for our next party logo. The colours are right and it kicks the bird's ass and the oak tree's nuts. The next Labour logo? An abyss.
In my BLOG I have stayed clear of national issues and concentrated on my role as a Councillor. The news from Iraq and Afghanistan over the last few days gets worse and worse. I wrote many letters to our local paper in the 9 months before the illegal invasion of Iraq cautioning against invasion on the basis of wrong information. We have in Bath an Iraq businessman who also put the truth into the...
Ok, Ok, I know I said I was going to get on with some work, and I have made quite a bit of progress in the last few hours. However, I took a small break for lunch and then found this video referenced on Tom Watson's blog. It is a typical negative attack ad from the US elections but it is also quite entertaining. Like Tom I am intriqued by the names of the candidates. Lt. Colonel (U.S. Airforce,
This question struck me as I was nose-to-tit with a complete stranger on the number 3 recently. The sloping stairs take up loads of space, so why not put a spiral staircase in?* Someone out there must know the answer *Preferably cast iron. With gold bits. No Tags
Since the schools went back for the autumn term, I've had a lot of complaints again about the amount of litter being dropped at lunchtimes in the Perth Road shopping area and the area westwards back towards the Harris. Having been in touch with both the Head Teacher at Harris Academy and the Waste Management Department, I've had good feedback from both. The feedback from Harris :- "... start of new term. I have assemblies next week and will raise this again with all pupils. We will also have a senior managers in Perth Road ...
My council colleague (and sister in law) Helen, plus Janet & I had a great evening yesterday joining the Dundee Hindu community at their Diwali Festival in the Hindu Cultural & Community Centre in Taylor's Lane in my ward. Click on the headline to read more - also see photos below!
Robin Knox-Johnston is spending a not-yer-average Sunday starting a round-the world yacht race. Now 67, he became the first person to circumnavigate non-stop in his wooden 32 footer Suhaili between 1968 and 69. The voyage is recounted in his book 'A world of my own', a great read even for a non sailor. Once, faced with a bowel-loosening storm in the Southern Ocean, he simply went below, shut the
Leeds United are in free fall at present. Blackwell had clearly lost the dressing room and had to go. Good decision. Then John Carver is given a go. Fair Decision. It seems reasonable to let someone who knows the players and who was the assistant manager and who has worked at other big clubs have a go at turning the situation round. In his first match we beat Birmingham 3-2 although given Birminghams recent slump in form it does not look so good with hindsight. Then we lost 4-2, 4-0, 2-1 finally yesterday 5-1 to Luton. A report can be ...
The latest Electoral Vote projection for the United States’ senate after the Fall mid-terms suggests a 50-50 split between Republicans and Democrats. (Which leaves me a little unsure how they’re categorising Democrat-turned-Independent Senator Joe Lieberman, who currently leads his Democrat challenger Ned Lamont 49-38% in the race for Connecticut.) The picture is more decisive in the battle for
Jack Straw's ideas about House of Lords reform (leaked document) are a good first step towards changing the chamber away from a council of elders into something actually reflecting the electorate at large. In short, the plan is to: Reduce the number of members by a third.Half 50% appointed and 50% elected.Pay elected members a salary and kick them out after three Parliamentary terms.Reduce the number of bishops who have seats in the Lords.Allow in some way for increases in minority religious/racial/gender representation (for example via quotas).The document proposes an Appointments Commission (accountable to Parliament rather than the government) which ...
Surbiton Arts Group has a lively membership but is always ready to welcome new members. They meet every two weeks for talks and workshops. The highlight of the year is the annual show which you can see at the Surbiton Library Hall all this week. This is good source of affordable art. Ann Neill with some of her delightfully detailed...
I am confused by the Conservatives when they talk about tax. One influential wing of the Tories, in the Economic Competitiveness Review, call for flat taxes. FLAT TAX = taxes are set at the same low rate for everyone, making them easy to understand and difficult to avoid, and eliminating the need for complex exemptions. The other in the guise of the Tax Reform Commission says flat taxes are a bad thing as they may initially boost economic growth, but don’t pay for themselves. This ultimately leads to public spending reductions or increased government debt. ...
I have just discovered that 4th to 10th October was National Chocolate Week. Somebody might have told me. Still I have Torchwood to look forward to tonight. In the meantime I have blogged too much this weekend already and need to get on with some work.
I've just discovered Shakespeare's Sister, a group blog from the USA (one of the contributors looks like UK Tory Martine Martin, they are probably different people, but I'm not sure.) American Progressive UK Tory Anyway, it's well worth looking at Shakespeare's Sister , for example for a posting here. Apparently a group in Ohio called “Citizens for Community Values,” is giving legal
For those interested in the US elections, some examples of late night TV comment via Political Humor: "Interesting admission by President Bush today. He said there are similarities between Iraq and Vietnam. Of course, the big difference is his dad could get him out of Vietnam." –Jay Leno "The president had a press conference this week and he said that the U.S. has no plans to attack North Korea.
Suddenly, Welsh political life has grown in stature with a flurry of new blogs from Parliamentarians springing up like April daffodils (yes, I know, I have been reading too many of Glyn Davies' posts). Most of these new blogs come from the Tories who have suddenly embraced the medium with all the enthusiasm of converts. I have added most of them to my links but here is a quick rundown of the new
It was me! It was my birthday yesterday, and I can still do binary arithmetic! .
A bugbear of mine which I expect will get a frequent airing on this blog is how the British press tends to be not just insular but parochial in its coverage. Squashed between the home news and the sports section, there are usually all-too-few pages about what’s happening in other parts of Europe, and even less room for events further afield. The story with which I’m about to regale you gives one small example of the contrast between British newspapers and their continental counterparts. But it also deserves a higher profile than it seems to be received for other reasons. ...
The Conservatives seem be having a bit of a row about tax-cutting. Some, including their own Tax Reform Commission, want to cut tax by £21billion (or course without saying what services will be cut) and the Leadership shying away from it. Wolverhampton South West Conservative's Campaign Director in 2005 - Chris Thompson has gone public saying that "We did not go far enough last year with our commitments to tax cuts. Therefore we did not win seats such as Wolverhampton South West where I was the Campaign Director. It is impossible that this will happen at the next general ...
Yesterday Lincoln thrashed Rochdale 7-1. I was thinking about going to the game as I had nothing else to do and the ground is only 2 minutes down the road, but not knowing anyone to go with sort of stopped that. So I missed out on an 8 goal game with Jamie Forrester scoring his [...]
One might be excused for thinking this picture is from this week's Private Eye. It is actually one of the shots taken yesterday of Camden's Green Tax Switch stall outside the Co-op in Kentish Town. After lugging the table, chair and all the gubbings down the road to Kentish Town, it started to rain. Not deterred, instead of our usual spot we moved slightly up the road outside the Coop which has a canopy. The store manger asked us to position the table in front of the window section which has window posters so we didn't obstruct shoppers viewing inside ...
This entry probably won't get onto the blog til Sunday as the maritime network sends text messages but for some reason won't deal with my emails. Nevertheless I am writing this at the end of Saturday with 7 hours to go before we arrive at Trabzon in North East Turkey.Saturday is one of two days we will spend entirely at sea on this holiday. So we started this morning with a visit to the bridge and
News that Clare Short has resigned the Labour whiip has reached me today. It is not massively unexpected. It was not a case of jumping before being pushed. The non-entity Labour chief whip Jacqui Who-The-Hell-Is-She Smith had already reprimanded her for her comments about campaigning for a no overall control parliament in the next generql election.But let's hope no one thinks she should join the | < | October 2006 | > | ||||
| S | M | T | W | T | F | S |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
| 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 |
| 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 |
| 29 | 30 | 31 | ||||
