Virgin Media are crap. Their website is nigh on impossible to navigate. They don't deliver on their promises ("we'll get back to you in 48hours", I spend the next two weeks trying to call them). When they can be arsed to answer the phone, their customer support staff are rude, unhelpful, incompetent and appear never to have come across a northern accent before (and mine isn't particularly 
Once a week is enough for any man (Hattie Jacques).
I think I have discovered a key creative influence on J.K. Rowling. I have just come in, turned the TV on and found Carry On Camping is showing. The wonderful Betty Marsden is playing a character called Harriet Potter. And she has been sharing a tent with a Mr Muggins, played by Charles Hawtrey. Later: "Matron, take them away."
As autumn arrived with a vengeance towards the end of my stay in Belarus — lashing rain, plummeting temperatures; God, what must winter be like?! — it was a relief to get a brief, mild transition in Poland — a balmy afternoon in the old city of Warsaw, awash with tourists and smiling nuns — before coming back to London and its glorious Indian summer. (Apparently, our weather, like everything else, is run from call centres in Mumbai these days… I jest.) Parliamentarians may still be savouring their protracted summer break, but on the ground, it is business as usual. Today, ...
(Photos by Mandy Sainsbury) We tend to talk about fairly serious things on here - but here's a lighter side of community life. Our colleague Cllr Mandy Sainsbury went to St John's Church Fun Day and Summer Show and reports: "The sun shone for St John's Fun Day today... a super selection of home-grown fruit and vegetables was on offer for the judges. I was very impressed by the wooden Land Rover that person had entered. I would have to (grudgingly) admit that the gents who entered the Victoria Sponge challenge can bake with the best! It was a well ...
My daughter has "found" this photograph
To all conference reps and local parties - please note that 12 noon on Wednesday 12 September is the deadline for: Emergency motions Amendments to those motions still open for amendment ‘Urgent issue’ discussions Questions to party reports (which are available online here) The first two in the list can be submitted by any 10 conference reps, local parties, SAOs, [...]
As a disaffected 17 year old, desperate to get away from home and to be free to do my own thing, I had a choice. Get a live in job as a receptionist in Radlett, or join the army. I joined the army! Surprisingly I found myself working as an analyst with Special Intelligence (I know scary isn't it??! But of course, one of the roles of military intelligence is to confuse the enemy and I'm very good at that!). I often joke that my first attempt at collective bargaining was in the army, and it didn’t go down very ...
I have recently taken to watching the Al Jazeera podcasts and youtube channel, and I have to say, they aint half bad and far exceed what the bbc, ITV and dare I say it channel 4 channels have to offer. Anyway, this article particularly took my attention, I know farmers in Briatin are having a hard time of it in general and I simply have to ask the question, is there anywhere on this planet or any method by which farmers can live a comfortable self sufficient life? If so please tell me.
After campaigning in Hodge Hill (but before the football) I went over to Coventry to meet with representatives of the Liberal Democrats to give a bit of training ahead of the University Freshers Fayre. We ran through what to expect and what messages to push in particular and also what materials they could expect from the Liberal Democrat Youth and Students in their pack that will be sent out soon. 
We thought we'd take our baby daughter to St Ives for the day, when it's sunny and we have the day free it often seems a good idea, it rarely is in practice though. St Ives is one of those places that will be busy all summer, regardless of how li... Read and post comments | Send to a friend
Nearly a month ago, when Chief Constable Peter Fahy of Cheshire went on his rant about upping the alcohol age limit I wrote the following piece but ended up not posting it. Now that thanks to Tim Martin of Wetherspoons (somewhat ironically as I would hold his company to be part of the problem - cashing in on the drinking shed culture and pricing out many estate pubs) an alternative argument similar to mine below has been posited, and picked up by Liberal England and Niles, I thought maybe it was worth reviving. It was a theme I mentioned actually ...
I have finally unloaded my photos from our marvellous holiday on the Isle of Mull and at Portsonachan, Loch Awe. From the 3,45,675 pictures which I took, this one stands out. The mountains have turned out beautifully in the background. It's of Lismore Lighthouse on Eilean Musdile which protects shipping in the Sound of Mull. It was built by Robert Stevenson in 1833.
They do things funny in Wales. It’s just been announced that nominations for the leader of the Liberal Democrats in the Welsh Assembly have been opened, meaning that Mike German is liable to be challenged. With three AMs mooted - Peter Black, Eleanor Burnham and Kirsty Williams - not to mention Mike German himself, with just 6 AMs in total, things could get pretty interesting. Either way, the contest is NOT to decide the leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats. That office is held by Lembit Opik MP. Until recently he was the Lib Dem spokesperson for Welsh affairs but ...
The Football League docked Leeds United 15 points. I still cannot work out why they were docked any points let alone 15! Anyway five games of the season have now elapsed. Five Games, Five Wins, Fifteen Points and we now stand on the grand total of zero after today's 2-0 win over Hartlepool. First target achieved and we are now three points from safety, nine points from the playoff spots and ten points from the automatic promotion spots with the best goal difference in the division. Had we not been docked points we would be two points clear at the ...
This morning we went leafleting in the Ostrich Lane area, in Sedgley ward. The new St Mary’s Focus is being printed this weekend, so we can start deliveries next week. Look out for it! Other than that, I have little to say today. I had a large lunch at “Gourmet Burger Kitchen” in the new Spinningfields development in town. It’s an amazing new regeneration project behind the courts in town, with a dozen or more huge office buildings, and restaurants and bars as well. Only a few of the restaurants are open as yet, and one of them is Gourmet ...
For those of you who enjoy seeing a Chief Constable in pain, here is the video where Richard Brunstrom is zapped. The point where the officer does the deed is at 02.34 but I recommend you watch the whole thing just in case you are ever faced with a Police Officer armed with such a weapon. Thanks to Colin for drawing it to my attention.
I have spent today in Birmingham Hodge Hill at their Action Day. I arrived early and spent a bit of time talking with the Tom their new organiser - I have been helping in Hodge Hill since 2004 so was able to give him some of background information.
Local Authorities have been given targets for increasing the length of cycle paths. That does not mean that the cycle paths have to be any use to cyclists. The link is to the Warrington Cycle Campaign's "Cycle Facility of the Month" that highlights each month a relatively futile cycle route. Such as these ones It is worth having a look at the site to see how badly government can act when
I am back and already full of ideas for future blog posts. However, as I still have a mountain of mail to open, hundreds of e-mails plus lots of news to catch up on, they will have to wait. The two items that have caught my attention immediately is that firstly, the Welsh Liberal Democrat Executive have opened nominations for Assembly Group leader. This means that I have until 14th October to consult with colleagues and decide what to do. I notice that Eleanor Burnham has already expressed an interest. Our car journey to Brighton will therefore, prove most interesting. ...
Jonathan Calder reports that Tim Martin, the successful Wetherspoons entrepreneur has been talking about the crackdown on underage drinking. As Jonathan quotes, Martin said that the crackdown on underage drinking had in many ways proved counterproductive. Earlier generations of teenagers had learned about alcohol through drinking beer in pubs from the age of about 16. Though their presence there was technically illegal, no one worried about it too much as long as they behaved themselves. Previous generations, including mine, learned to drink beer in pubs under the watchful eyes of other generations of drinkers. We did it before we were ...
The BBC reports: Liberal Democrats have fired the starting gun on a contest to lead the party in the Welsh assembly.The party's Welsh executive, meeting in Powys, has decided anyone who wants to challenge incumbent Mike German must declare their candidacy by 14 October. If there is a contest among the party's six AMs, the results will be declared by the end of November.We all know that the well-known blogger Peter Black AM has his ambitions, but this story shows North Wales AM Eleanor Burnham playing what she obviously believes will be a valuable card: "I'm a Welsh-speaking north Wales ...
The review of the Warwickshire Fire & Rescue Service commissioned by Warwickshire County Council was discussed on Thursday by the ruling Conservative group and proposals are expected to be put forward to the council later in the year. There are various options put forward in the report including merging or collaborating with fire services in a neighbouring county, consolidation of existing fire stations or a mixture of all three. It is clear from the report that the motive is to save money and this is likely to result in less fire engines, less firemen and less stations. I will be ...
.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; } .flickr-yourcomment { } .flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; } .flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } No to GST rally, originally uploaded by Up Your Ego. Nobody likes a new tax and that includes more than 1000 people that turned up to protest the Jersey Goods and Services Tax in the Royal Square on Saturday 8 September. There were a number of banners - some of them pretty funny, others wordy but interesting and some just colourful. This one: NO Get Stuffed Terry (or NO GST). So nearly 19,000 people have signed ...
Over at our local recycling centre in Cox Lane you can now recycle drinks cartons - the type made of foil-lined card. These are almost all made by Tetra Pak. I was looking up Tetra Pak in Wikipedia and found myself getting all nostalgic for their very first product, which was a tetrahedron shaped pack for orange juice (hence the name). They were, to be truthful, rather...
Last night I mourned the poor selection of films in the last week of the BBC's Summer of British Film. To some extent Channel 4 has come to the rescue. Cottage to Let, a World War II espionage thriller, is great fun and has a wonderful cast: Alistair Sim, Leslie Banks, a very young George Cole and John bloody Mills again. I have not seen The Guinea Pig, but it will undoubtedly tell us something about attitudes to class. Made in 1948, it tells the story of a 14-year-old working class lad sent to a public school. That 14-year-old was ...
I am just listening to Any Questions?. Why is that Kelvin MacKenzie feels that he has to shout so much? Greg Dyke summed up Boris Johnson very well - "I love Boris, but I wouldn't let him run my bath". On a different subject, it is delightful that Daddy Alex has moved back into full production mode. I am particularly grateful to him for encouraging me to have the patience to translate this
I caught an interview with Tim Martin, the founder of the J.D. Wetherspoon pub chain, on the Today programme yesterday morning. Martin said that the crackdown on underage drinking had in many ways proved counterproductive. Earlier generations of teenagers had learned about alcohol through drinking beer in pubs from the age of about 16. Though their presence there was technically illegal, no one worried about it too much as long as they behaved themselves. Now they have been forced out of the pubs, teenagers have to congregate in places like shopping centres and pubs. Rather than beer they consume vodka-based ...
An interesting point raised by Frank Little on industrial heritage and tourism, talking up the potential of sites in Neath and Port Talbot. This is very much a developing trend. See the ‘European Route of Industrial Heritage’ webpage to see the sort of tourism that is emerging. Yes we need to do more to understand our industrial and commercial past. Raises the question for me.. Are there any bits of the Briton Ferry Ironworks still around? I have not been back to The Ferry for 30 years or more... Just south of Neath and Port Talbot (in Pen-y-Bont ar Ogwr) ...
Over at Lib Dem Voice, Stephen Tall asks do you remember your first party conference? What I remember of the Spring 1996 Nottingham conference was not that positive. Three things stand out: the big debate over higher education in which LDYS submitted an amendment for free education which was thrown out in favour of Don Foster’s proposals for individual learning accounts (a policy that lasted ooh… five minutes I think); talking to a fellow LDYS member outside a meeting in which two rival factions both claiming to be the real Ethnic Minority Liberal Democrats had had a slanging match; and ... 
Bit of a hitch with the hearing. the morning went well and at two o' clock I settled down to give my evidence. Three hours of legal wrangling over aspects of my evidence, ended with the hearing being adjourned until late November. I can't go into any detail, as we are mid hearing, but it wasn't a great day, sat at a little table on my own, while people argued about what I was saying. I had to stay there even during short adjournments!. Anyway, that's what happened, so no more about this, until November.
The Guardian Guide’s gone comics mad, with a cover and article by Bryan Talbot outlining the history of British comics and a nostalgic article by Charlie Brooker who, it turns out, drew for Oink! (I never knew that!). Both of these are to tie in with a new BBC4 series called Comics Britannia, which starts on Monday by looking at the Beano and the Dandy. The programme makers must have been bribing Farringdon Road because in addition to those two articles it is listed as Monday’s pick of the day and Number 2 in their Top 50 of must-see shows ...
I made a special journey up to Needham Market last night to attend the Annual Dinner of Bury St Edmunds Liberal Democrats, the first leg of my Local Party odyssey this weekend. After a journey described by many as 'typical for One Railway', I arrived a mere one hour late (ah, now I understand the significance of the name!) but just in time to get fed and hear the guest speaker, Dorothy Thornhill
I notice the Daily Express, amongst others, are having a dip at the European Parliament for not withholding Ashley Mote MEP’s salary and expenses while his serves a 9 month prison sentence. Mote you will recall was elected as a UKIP MEP later went Independent and subsequently joined the nascent Fascist grouping in the European Parliament. Just recently he was convicted of benefit fraud and is to serve a 9 month custodial sentence. H/t to my colleague Ed who has been looking at this. As it is entirely a question of national law, there are no common rules on disqualification ...
Does it strike anyone else as being slightly odd that a terrorist leader like Osama Bin Ladin should have his latest video filmed by a slightly more blurry camera to hide his wrinkles and bizarrely, that he has died his hair jet black like Elvis Presley in his Las Vegas days ? Whatever next for Osama ? Perhaps a facelift ? Sack, back and crack ? Liposuction ? or dermabrasion to remove signs of ageing from his skin followed by a nose job ? For some people being the world's most wanted man is not enough. He wants to look ...
On Facebook, that is. The evidence is here: I was the first person to post on Ming's wall. For the uninitiated amongst you that is known as "taking someone's wall virginity". I only mention this because Ming admitted under interrogation that he didn't personally run his Facebook profile. In fact, for some time after Ming joined facebook, people were comng up to me suggesting that I was actually behind it. I am not now and have never been.... I also have never poked Ming at all. I have, however, poked Jeremy Browne MP quite a lot over the past few ...
Back from my hols: to Egypt with my favourite travel company, Explore Worldwide adventure travel. Journeying by train and felucca, a small traditional wooden sailing boat (photo above as we wake up one morning on our boats) we explored Cairo, Aswan and Luxor (ancient Thebes) visiting all the popular historical sites such as the Pyramids, Sphinx, Karnak and the Valley of the Kings. But the
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The BBC highlights a report by Dundee University that shows that only a small proportion of Dental Students want to do NHS work, with the vast majority wanting to concentrate on private medical work, which pays vastly more. The question for me to ask here is whether the state is paying too much to train dentists who have no intention of repaying their debt to the state that helped fund and provide their training. I assume that dental students pay top up fees, but this suggests that this is a top up to the amount that the state contributes towards ...
The "snapometer" swings back and forward with everyday. Today, it swings away from an autumn election a tad due to the chief of the Unite union saying he does not believe that Gordon Brown should or will call an autumn election.
A classic moment from today's write-up of a Times interview with Ming: We have just asked Sir Menzies Campbell when he last poked someone. The face of the Liberal Democrat leader registers utter astonishment, a flush of alarm then a hint of anger. Poking is, we hurriedly assure him, a technical term, from Facebook, which he was the first party leader to sign up to. “Ah. I was encouraged to do
I have spent a great deal of time researching my family's history. Being a great amateur history enthusiast, it is good to see people taking an interest in history through genealogy - "family tree tracing". It is therefore very gratifying to see the great success of the BBC's "Who do you think you are", which is now back for a new series. It is obviously getting a lot of viewers, as they are now
The pamphlet “In the balance: coalition and minority government in Britain and abroad” from CentreForum is a welcome contribution to the debate on hung parliaments. Earlier this week I pooh-poohed an article from Mark Oaten on a potential Lib-Con coalition. Perhaps that was unfair, given my welcome now for CentreForum’s opus. However, Mr Oaten has a book to promote and a career to kick-start.
Friday: Let's start with BIG HUGS for Mr Tom Papworth who is now Mr Councillor Tom! After almost a hundred years of coming third in a race with no bronze medals, you can rest assured that Liberals and Liberal Democrats are well used to not making it to the podium, and doing it with DIGNITY. Conservatories may throw their toys out of the pram when they lose; the Labour may go off in protracted sulks. But TRUE LIBERALS know that if we haven't won then it is the voters' way of saying we need to try harder. And that is ...
When people have mental health problems it can be difficult for them to hold down a permanent job. Springboard is a Kingston based NHS service that provides commercial work in a supported environment. It has printing, bicycle repair, woodwork, poppy (yes, poppies for the Royal British Legion) and other workshops at Tolworth Hospital, as well as a café at Roselands Resource Centre. The...
Lib Dem Voice asked the victor of the famous 1962 Orpington by-election, Eric Lubbock (now known as Lord Avebury), what he remembered of his first Liberal Party conference. Here’s what he told us: It was the Assembly of 1962 in Llandudno, six months after I had been elected that March. Jo Grimond was Leader, and I [...]
…Talking about Mark Oaten or coalitions (well, it’s appropriate; Mr Oaten talks about both subjects incessantly, but then, he can’t resist anything). What do they have in common? That at the next General Election, we all hope nobody’ll mention either of them! Still, Lib Dem bloggers just can’t resist talking about them either because, well, we all love a good gossip, and I’ve read all the blog pieces doing the rounds, too. Some of them have been serious and very sound (Jonny Wright and his floppy yellow sponge come to mind), but the one most worth reading is Liberal Mafia. ...
This is from Wikipedia. I do hope it is true: Stanley Unwin died in 2002 in Daventry, England. He is buried in the churchyard at Long Buckby, Northamptonshire with his wife, who pre-deceased him. Their gravestone has the epitaph, "Reunitey in the heavenly-bode - Deep Joy".
It's not only Mark Oaten who has been writing about coalitions. Paul Marshall's CentreForum think tank has also come up with a publication just in time for the Liberal Democrat Conference. In the Balance: Coalition and minority governments in Britain and abroad. It contains four short chapters: Introduction - Mark Bell & Alasdair MurrayScotland - Peter LynchWales - John OsmondGermany - Martin Lodge & Kai WegrichI have already heard from one prominent Lib Dem who suspects the simultaneous appearance of these two books is not a coincidence. Oaten and Marshall have been associated before, notably with The Orange Book in ...
So, work has begun on the solar panel. This is Tuesday: {Roof access} The company turned up, and spent an hour looking at the roof. Access is really tricky. There’s a car-port preventing them putting a ladder straight up to the south-facing roof. Eventually, they decide the easiest way, short of entirely removing the car port then replacing it, is to go up into the attic, out through the sky-light and clamber over the roof to the panel. {Solar panel - incomplete} By the end of the second day, they have fitted the top part and some of the tubes. ...
It seems that our new historian has at least one admirer. Iain Dale writes: Mark Oaten has a truly superb new book out on Monday called Coalition. It's a history of coalition making since 1850 and it has a fascinating chapter looking forward to the next election.I interviewed Mark about his book earlier in the week ... and was struck by how he had slowly become disenchanted with the whole concept of coalitions during the writing of the book. However, the book -and his article in yesterday's Times - leaves little doubt about which party he hopes the Lib Dems ...
Thursday: There is no one QUITE like the Conservatories for picking a fight with their own party. Only they can manage that special combination of SOUR GRAPES and SELF-IMPORTANCE. This week it was the Thirteenth (unlucky for some) Marquis of Lothian, the Very Right Honourable Earl of Ancram who kicked off, managing to rain all over Mr Steven Dolly's pamphlet launch. "Save our Soul!" Ancram slaps Balloon. "Urgh! You're Bizarre!" Dolly slaps Ancram. "Ooo, You're such a Blast from the Past!" Balloon slaps Ancram too! Playtime over, it was time to get back to the serious business of Mr Balloon ... | < | September 2007 | > | ||||
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