This is a tale of two Renault main dealers and there attention to customer service, it is one of a series! The task, two dealers are presented with the same fault. The Renault Laguna II that I have is fitted with sensors in the valves, these communicate back to the on board computer what your tyre pressure is via a radio link. If anything goes wrong you are forced to return to a Renault main
Is changing your light bulb going to do any good in the face of global warming? How can you and your light bulb possibly counteract all the increasing carbon emissions from China? Those are the questions addressed in my piece for the New Statesman's blog - do go and have a read and find out the seven reasons why I think your light bulb does matter!
Environmental Health Officers will be asking construction workers across Birmingham to help keep the noise down as part of Noise Action Week. Leaflets will be distributed to sites and builders’ suppliers from Monday 21 May to remind them of the legislation concerning noise from construction sites. Councillor Neil Eustace (Lib Dem, Stechford & Yardley North Ward), Chair of the Public Protection
The future of Parkland Walk continues to be a big issue locally - so I've put up an online survey to make it easy for people to let me have their views. Please do go and take part; it's at http://www.libertyresearch.org.uk/take/103
Writing on Spiked, Dr Michael Fitzpatrick sets out the extraordinary details of this system: In its modernising zeal, MTAS gives priority to doctors’ subjective ‘learning experiences’ and downplays objective indicators of performance. It allocates 75 per cent of its points to 150-word vignettes of clinical cases, in which doctors display fashionable concerns about ‘reflexive learning’, ‘team-working’ and ethical dilemmas.According to critics this amounts to meaningless self-promotion as well as being open to plagiarism (which the system lacks the software to detect). Only 25 per cent of points are allocated to academic or research achievements. Extracurricular activities are marginalised, references sidelined ... 
Peter Pigeon has picked out some of the better Lib Dem constituency performances in the local elections held earlier this month: Grimsby - won with 39.1% (2004 33.8%) Hull E, N and W - won with 43.9% (up 1.6%),42.3% (up 4%), and 46.7% (up 19.6%!) Blaydon - won with 47.8% (up 2.8%) Newcastle North - won with 52.7% (up 6.8%) St Helens S - won with 45.1% (up 0.3%) Oldham E - won with 53.8% (up 17.4%) Burnley - won with 33.9% (up 6.3%) Milton Keynes N - won with 39.2% (up 4%) Warrington S - won with 52.6% (up ...
In my new guise as Secretary of Borough of Brent Liberal Democrats (currently acting as locum on a non-voting basis), I spent the afternoon in Dudden Hill, delivering letters to voters in various parts of the ward. Despite the persistent drizzle, I covered quite a bit of ground for an old man (at least, I feel vaguely elderly) and managed to get four walks done before my feet started to send
(This post began as a reply to Geoffrey Payne, but got out of hand, as per usual.) Few words in the political lexicon are as prevalent or as troubling as ‘poverty’ . But what does it actually mean? Primarily, it means lacking sustenance, or being threatened with a lack of sustenance. From any objective standpoint, poverty [...]
I go away for a few days, return to Blighty, only to discover it’s the same old, same old… Tony Blair is still Prime Minister, despite having announced his resignation three times (and counting… ooh, I can’t wait for the tear-wrenching speech he’s got lined up for us on the 27th June), while Gordon Brown broods testily in the wings having clocked up 13 years as a bitter understudy.Two of my
A comment from Hywel Morgan on LDV persuaded me to trawl through some spreadsheets (provided by my good friend Mark Senior) to find constituencies we do not hold where we had both a) won the popular vote on May 5 b) and improved on our vote on 2004. The population is not the UK, nor even England - London is excluded by the definition. Here are the eleven places where you should send your cv: Grimsby - won with 39.1% (2004 33.8%) Hull E, N and W - won with 43.9% (up 1.6%),42.3% (up 4%), and ...
Excuse the blurred photo. Its a picture of an item from Budgens range 'Polish specialities'. .Very enterprising I am sure, and I suppose you have to take your hat of to Budgens marketing department for catering to the massive Polish migrant workforce in the UK at the moment. it is a shame though that they dint stock the zero percent yoghurt I wanted to buy. .Still, if Polish sour soup is your thing, Budgens is the place for you !
I have just received the Annual Report of the Mayor of London. And quite right that he should report to his electorate. But at what cost? The report consists of two A4 glossy volumes, totalling 180 pages, printed on high quality paper in full colour - plus a large foldout poster showing how important London is in the world (yes, we do know!). These were presented in a card slipcase,...
You couldn't make it up Manager sacked before he's even picked a team and played a game! Torquay United are set to confirm Leroy Rosenior's exit from Plainmoor after lead shareholder Mike Bateson agr...
I am feeling miserable and full of gloom for the world and the Middle East today. In the autumn of 1994 and stretching into the summer of 1995 I spent the lion’s share of my time in the Levant, specifically Israel, Jordan and Egypt. In those days, once you’d paid your airfare, volunteering on a Kibbutz or Moshav in Israel was self funding and was a ticket to a mild winter, at times boredom and
Trade and Industry: OM Energy Q:To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to the answer of 27 April 2007, Official Report, column 1361W, on OM Energy, what his definition is of academic validation of the technology; and who validated the technology. A:By academic validation, I mean that appropriately qualified experts have judged that the technology works. The experts 
On third time of counting, on Tuesday, we got a result from Warwick! There was supposed to be electronic counting but it ended up being manual.
Leader of the Liberal Democrats Ming Campbell today wrote to Gordon Brown calling on him to take part in a series of televised debates with himself and David Cameron over the next six weeks. In his letter, Menzies Campbell said: “In the absence of a contested election the public will not have the benefit of the [...]
The question being asked is whether or not things have got better since the scandal of false diagnoses of sexual abuse in 1987 in Cleveland. 121 children were removed from their families because of false claims. It is important to recognise that this was not good for the children concerned. A "false positive" for child abuse is in itself abusive of the child. It causes emotional trauma and
Looking at the appalling situation in Iraq and trying to work out what on earth the British Policy will be come Brown’s ascension to Number Ten, it is hard to escape a feeling that Official London is currently at a total loss what to do. Something like the official reactions noted in 1598 by a contemporary diarist. He recorded the English stupor after the massive English defeat in the Nine Years War at the Battle of the Yellow Ford, (aka Blackwater), where an English army was effectively wiped out by the Irish. This is the greatest Loss and dishonour ...
Last week, BBC’s Panorama did an expose on the Scientologists, a cult that believes we are all imprisoned space aliens. This week, the same programme is purporting to prove that wi-fi fries your brain. And so, the cosmic balance of the BBC’s sensible/face-slappingly idiotic halves is once again restored. I don’t really know where [...]
Here's a test of whether older people read blogs! Last week (May 12th) I was on BBC Radio 4's Money Box programme talking about the position of some women who are now drawing less state pension than they should be. Working with the Times newspaper and Grant Thornton, we have identified a group of women who had children and spent time at home with them in the 1980s, who should have had their pension rights protected under a scheme called 'Home Responsibilities Protection' - but who aren't. We're not sure exactly why these women are missing out, but our ...
‘Son of the manse’ is one of those stock phrases that crops up in profiles of Gordon Brown, the assumption being that his ‘dour nature’ (another profile-writers cliche) and all sorts of things about him can be explained by the fact that his father was a minister in the Church of Scotland. While that description has [...]
To the average person on a low income or who is unemployed, the idea that voting for a political party can make much, if any, difference to their life would seem absurd. It has not always been this way. The Liberal government of 1906 did much to respond to the social agenda, although it did not [...]
At least according to readers of The Register. In an online poll to see who should play Iggy Pop, Lord Tebbit won a landslide victory with 78% of the vote. There are however allegations of vote rigging by Conservative Central Office.
Do we have déjà vu all over again? Universal enforced snooping is on the agenda. A real ‘New Labour theme. Council staff, charity workers and doctors could be required by law to tip off police about anyone they believe could commit a violent crime. The Home Office proposals, leaked to the Times newspaper, insist public bodies have "valuable information" that could identify potential offenders Lets be clear. If you know someone has commited a crime you tell the police. They prosecute, you are a witness and can have your evidence tested in court. This propsal is for ...
As readers may know a Bill which seeks to exempt MPs and Peers from the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act, passed its third reading in the House of Commons on Friday and will now be debated in the House of Lords.
Name: Jeffrey Stephen Hook Ward: Rotherhithe Ward How old are you: 52 When were you first elected: By-Election Nov 1998 (following the death of Vic Jones) Position on the council: Currently Executive Member for Community Safety. Previously Chief Whip, Chair of Planning, and Executive Member for Regeneration What is your greatest political interest: On the council - Social Housing. More widely, Proportional Representation Do you have a day job: I'm a full time Executive member now. Previously, I was the IT and Facilities Maintenance Director for the National Maritime MuseumDescribe your greatest achievement as a politician: I was the ...
Obviously my internet at home is no longer working. The weekend's flurry of activity was just a flash in the Orange pan. We are back to square one with them now, and I return to my look of casual acceptance, with occasional head-shaking. Unfortunately I am not being helped by Bury council, who are still to provide me with an email address or IT facilities to answer constituent issues. So blogging
So for those of you who didn't know - 17th May was IDAHO - or the International Day of Homophobia. Its funny seeing on this day the homophobic comments on a website previously mentioned were still coming out (no pun intended!) and still continues! Also - it is not long until Lincolnshire Pride now - its just 60 days away until Lincoln welcomes the gay community from around the country for the big celebration of gay life! Hopefully more of the City Councillors will be there to support the event than last year. I am told is to be ...
Changes to the planning process seem to be afoot. 'Streamlining' is being talked about. I am a bit confused as to whether this is about the small end - i.e. conservatories, extensions etc - or the big end - i.e airport terminal plans, new rail links etc. Indeed, it could be both. I think my confusion seems to be justified given that we seem to be in "pre-announcement spin" mode. A quick news
The Western Mail reports that most grassroots members of Plaid Cymru appear to be swinging behind a possible coalition deal that would put Ieuan Wyn Jones into the First Minister’s office – so long as the terms are right. Their evidence for this assertion is that Plaid members in Caernarfon on Saturday overwhelmingly backed such a deal in principle. The paper is careful to point out however that PLaid Cymru's biggest problem remains their membership in the South Wales Valleys. They are understood to be less happy at the prospect as is evidenced from this entry on Bethan Jenkins' ...
An extract from Mrs Gubbins’ so-called Mission Statement: “We will seek new ways to enhance our readers’ Hooting Yard experience. For example, we should strain mightily to harness the awesome power of the interweb to create what I think are known as multimedia formats. We should exploit different platforms and portals. The site will strive to [...]
In that corner of the ethereal realm where reside the Frankish kings, it was breakfast time. The kitchenette was overcrowded, as usual. There was much jostling as the kings, who each had very different breakfast needs, struggled to find space to prepare and consume their morning repasts. I was going to say that their breakfast [...]
This will be controversial amongst the left-wing progressives, but I can’t help thinking that the progressive movement planted the seeds for the neo-conservative international interventionist agenda. The core of the progressive movement was ‘new freedom’ or ‘new liberty’ which was a wordplay to reverse the liberal view. The liberal view is that force is not allowed except [...]
Our new Deputy Mayor, Cllr Bart Ricketts, has started a blog. Already he has some good photos of events since he was installed two weeks ago. The Mayor, Cllr Shiraz Mirza, is planning to start one soon too. It seems that you have to wait until you're Mayor or Deputy Mayor before blogging round here!
A sad day today as the Cutty Sark (one of the most famous landmarks in London) goes up in flames. I remember visiting the Cutty Sark as a small child and being totally in awe of this vast ship - it must have seemed a lot bigger to a small child I guess but it is a sad day to hear the BBC Radio commentator referring to a charred and burnt out hulk. I suspect the Heritage Lottery Fund (or whatever they are called this week) will be receiving an application for funds to restore this grand ...
This story - about an election in the Philippines decided by the toss of a coin - is currently featured on the front page of BBC news. One has to wonder why - it's not like we do things too differently here! Seasoned campaigners will know well that in this country tied elections have long been decided by tossing coins, drawing lots and all manner of other random events. In fact, only last year control of St. Albans District Council was decided by a "pick the longest pencil" contest! Still, don't they do things funny over there? ...
Well, here’s a thing. I didn’t think I would be rushing into print to defend Ming Campbell’s leadership of the Lib Dems. Last year I voted enthusiastically (although fairly quietly as I was employed by the party at the time) for Chris Huhne. I didn’t think it was wise for the party to opt [...]
Not much changed in Walsall, the Liberal Democrats held both their seats that were up and made progress in Willenhall South. Labour lost three seats, one to the Independents, one to the Conservatives and one to the Democratic Labour Party.
Saturday: Did you know that 42 is NOT a Happy Number? No? Well, daddy and I used the Wibbly Wobbly Web to look Happy Numbers up after tonight’s Doctor Who and discovered that EVERY number will either turn into a “1” or a “4” when you do the “take the sum of the squares of their integers and repeat thing”. Once you get to a “4” you get stuck in a LOOP so you never get to “1”. 42 goes 4x4 plus 2x2 equals 16 plus 4 equals 20; 20 goes 2x2 plus 0x0 equals 4 plus ... | < | May 2007 | > | ||||
| 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 | ||
