When I was a kid, I used to love to go to the local cinema for the Saturday matinées: two feature films, with some cartoon shorts in between, all for the price of sixpence. Later, I remember sitting through the animated film 101 Dalmations (Walt Disney, 1961) in two consecutive screenings. The only other time I've ...
Cambridge City Council gives community development and leisure grants to young people's groups, sports teams, social clubs, community associations etc. This could help with events, equipment or outings. Here is a list of the types of organization and activity that attract grant funding: Organisations that provide activities and services to people who are disadvantaged or marginalised by their social or economic circumstances Organisations that enable people to improve their own well being and participate in their communities Organisations that enable people to participate in making decisions and influence the services that affect their lives Activities which increase people's awareness of ...
I previously blogged in Part 1 about how manufacturing is on the Government's agenda but Remploy's work in manufacturing does not seem to have made an impact. This is a mystery to me. A campaign called 'Make It In Great Britain' which is assisted by the Government is 'aiming to transform the image of modern British manufacturing and to raise awareness of its importance for the economy' and is scheduled to stage an exhibition during the Olympics and PARALYMPICS. Why is Remploy, where manufacturing is done by disabled people, being closed down then? The Welsh government seems to recognise this ...
This is nearly a week late but I'm afraid I haven't had a chance to write about conference until now. I arrived in Newcastle on the Sunday and I have to say it's a very pretty city - surprisingly so in fact. Then again, that could be my inate home counties bias and negative stereotypes of the north. Anyway, here are a few key moments of conference for me: The first was on the Friday night when a friend and I attended a fringe on the UK's space industry - a sector which has been growing at 10% a year ...
Why is there a lot of talk about a mansion tax at the moment? The short, obvious answer is because the budget is imminent. Liberal Democrats have long held the belief that it is better to tax wealth than income. This position was reaffirmed at Spring Conference. A belief in the desirability of a mansion tax is not restricted to the Libdems. You can even find the odd Tory who is sympathetic to the idea. In the context of the budget the Libdems were campaigning for a switch to a mansion tax to accompany a reduction in the higher rate ...
I am already receiving nomination of posts for the March Mental Health Carnival. If you would like to see a post from your own blog included, please send me an email. As Dance Without Sleeping wrote when posting the first carnival last year: I think it's really important to share our mental health experiences so that 1) people know they are not alone and 2) people understand what it's like to experience mental health issues. It's not all hearing voices in your head and covering things in tin foil! Mental health issues are complex and not always easy to talk ...
With a child coming up to two years age we often see "in the night garden". This is a calming bit of fun. Yet people talk of the night garden with great fondness and some start to wonder if there is some greater meaning. So lets speculate. Remember this is just for fun.... What is the night garden. In the real world the child falls asleep - it is dark yet in the garden it is always light. Perhaps it is only a dream? As a place with so much sun would be antartica in summer or some other cold ...
It's not unusual for parties to put up posters in by-elections, far from it. But Labour don't seem to have fully thought through their choice of one poster location in the Bradford West by-election. One of the issues coming up in the campaign is Labour's neglect of the town centre. So where has Labour put up one of its posters? On a run-down building just outside the town centre, neatly not only drawing more attention to the building but also associating Labour with it. Why, thank you Labour poster team. You can find details on how to help Jeanette Sunderland's ...
Tuesday, 17 April marks the resumption of garden waste collections across the county. Householders who are part of the collection scheme will receive a calendar during the coming weeks showing their specific collection dates. Collections may not match rubbish or recycling collection days, so residents are asked to check the calendar carefully before leaving their garden waste out for collection. The following items can all be placed in the garden waste bin: Small branches Flowers Leaves Grass cuttings Weeds Prunings Hedge clippings
So, that's the first race of the Formula 1 season over, then. This season looks like it's going to be intriguing. The Red Bull domination appears to be over. While they're still very strong, they have an equal and worthy competitor in McLaren.If Kimi Raikonnen can sort out his qualifying strategy and Mercedes can sort out their reliability issues, we could be on the edge of our seats for the next 8 and a half months. Jenson was so smooth today - he made the whole thing look easy. I certainly would not be complaining if he took his second ...
Well as promised in a previous post here's a writeup of part of last Thursday's Cabinet meeting, well at least some highlights. Item 8 (Chief Executives Office) along with its its appendix have been deferred to a future meeting. Cllr Jeff Green wanted to waive call-in on item 27 regarding St. Anselms College but was ...
It's not that this is a very good record: it's that it is far better than it needed to be. David Essex had made his first record as a teenager in 1963, but 10 years later was better known as an actor, having appeared in Godspell in the West End and in the film That'll be the Day. Then in 1973 he suddenly emerged as a teenybopper idol - Britain's answer to David Cassidy, if not Donny Osmond. Given that Essex's popularity was based on his looks more than anything else, and that his audience spent most of its time ...
It never ceases to amaze me that life throws these little curve balls at you and gives you opportunities to do things that you have never done before. Today was one of those days. I wrote a blog post back in June of last year in response to Polly Toynbee's reaction to something regarding the word ...
I am not a particularly religious person - a deep and abiding suspicion of clerical bureaucracy is just one reason why I am sceptical about organised religion - but I do find that religious services, done well, do lift the soul (oh yes, I do believe in that, contradictory though that may seem). And so it was with some pleasure that Ros and I attended Evensong for Her Majesty's Courts of Justice at St Edmundsbury Cathedral this afternoon. The event, the climax of the High Sheriff's term of office, is an opportunity to give thanks to those who uphold our ...
Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 265th weekly round-up from the Lib Dem blogosphere ... Featuring the seven most popular stories beyond Lib Dem Voice according to click-throughs from the Aggregator (11-17 March, 2012), together with a hand-picked quintet, normally courtesy of LibDig, you might otherwise have missed. Don't forget: you can sign up to receive the Golden Dozen direct to your email inbox — just click here — ensuring you never miss out on the best of Lib Dem blogging. As ever, let's start with the most popular post, and work our way down: 1. The leadership's three ...
At last November's general election, the New Zealand Labour Party received its lowest share of the vote (27.5 per cent) since 1928. After the wipeout, with John Key's National-led government riding high, Labour MPs elected a new leader, David Shearer, who had been in Parliament just over two years. The other contender had baggage, but Shearer's real attractiveness lay with his newness, his firm positioning in the middle of the road, his laid back style and his authenticity. This time, Labour wanted a "real person" at the helm, rather than another technocrat. [IMG: http://static.stuff.co.nz/1324077390/413/6143413.jpg] It all sounded so familiar. My ...
Join me on a journey through some of the interesting, supportive and crazy articles and comment pieces in the media over the last few days! Let's start with this one from the Sun. Gay marriage law means 'there could be two Queens' on the throne. No, they aren't suggesting Elton John and David Furnish might suddenly be in the running for a promotion. This story actually deals with an interesting question, one the Daily Mail has also picked up "The Honourable David Furnish? Gay partners of knights and peers may be given courtesy titles in latest equality drive". What are ...
The political meeting of two countries leaders, Cameron and Obama, has been in the news this week. The pomp and ceremony has been compared from all angles, as well as the deliberating of the benefits of such diplomatic liaison. There has been much debate from a feminist angle about the presence of the clothing Michelle ...
Rowan Williams is stepping down as Archbishop of Canterbury. For all his faults he is one the world's great intellectuals. Can the Church of England sustain its establishment status without him? Archbishop Williams's departure has drawn a lot of comment. I've seen references in Twitter and such to some very negative views, but I must admit I haven't given these much time. I have read one of his books (Lost Icons, published in 2000); rereading the review of this book I wrote at the time reminds me of just how profound and disturbing (in a positive sense) I found it. ...
There's no prize at stake - just the opportunity to prove you're wittier than any other LDV reader... Here's the popular leader of a leading nation whose economy is on the road to recovery on a Boy's Night Out with David Cameron. What do you think might be being said or thought by or about them? And the winner of our last caption comp is... Some fantastic entries for our most recent caption competition, David Cameron & Alex Salmond "Who'll take the Highland?" Edition. The winner, according to The Voice's judging panel of one, was this one by Rob Strickland: ...
Watch this clip. There, your interview doesn't seem so bad now does it?
FROM: Hamish Carpenter, Transformational Excellence Manager, Odanglesex County Council TO: Caren Thwaites, North-west and South-East Odanglesex Transitional Primary Care Trust Will Wainwright, Community Safety Co-ordinator, Odanglesex Police Tamara Gold, Chair, Confederation of Odanglesex Councils for Voluntary Service Basil Fogarty, Chief Executive, Odanglesex Association of Local Councils Mark Cullompton, Wekebridge District Council (for the district councils) Petra Partington, Vice-chair, CTC (Odanglesex Branch) Colleagues: Many thanks for coming this morning. I thought the meeting was very positive indeed. Are you happy with this as a summary of what we agreed? 1: There is a need to co-ordinate action across agencies to promote ...
I am the proud owner of a 800cc BMW motorcycle. I must admit to being a "fair weather biker". In other words the bike stays in the garage until decent weather arrives. In preparation for the beginning of my biking season I recently charged the battery and gave the bike a quick dust down. My intention was to go for a blast, put a huge smile on my face, blow away the cobwebs and forget about politics for a while. This afternoon I took the bike for an hours run to check it out. The bike comes with all modern ...
I don't support the NHS bill, saying that in the first sentence, but there is much that this wrong in the NHS, too much time is spent in dealing with contracts with other organisations, bills being sent out that are incorrect, as with many large organisations too much tolerance of poor performance, and inefficient procedures. Put in lots of targets as the last government did, doesn't help either. Too much time is then spent either lying, or finding ways to get round these targets. To push up quality and reduce costs, competition was introduced. Now we have lots of inefficient ...
Ahead of next Wednesday's Budget announcement by George Osborne, there's been much rumour and innuendo about what may be changed. The Liberal Democrats want to increase the rate by which the minimum threshold for Income Tax is raised, to help take more people out of paying Income Tax and more quickly. George Osborne seems fairly relaxed about this but whether he will want to prioritise it as such, especially after the Yellows have claimed it as their own project, remains to be seen. The Conservatives want the top rate of Income Tax to be cut from 50% to 40%. They ...
It's over 50 years since the campaign by Jimmy Hill, then chairman of the Professional Footballers' Association, successfully scrapped the maximum wage which operated throughout the football league until 1961. Some probably lament the commercialisation of the game which it set in motion. But the idea that individuals should have a ceiling placed on their wage-earning potential by the authorities seems quaintly absurd today. Except in the public sector. If you're paid by the government — if, for example, you work in schools, colleges and universities, or the civil service and local government — then your wages are defined by ...
Today was my first day in India. Bangalore, to be precise. The city is hot, noisy, full of dangerous drivers, cows on the road, and a disturbingly potholed pavement. I entered a modern looking mall. Partly out of tourist curiosity, mostly for the air conditioning! I saw something which shocked me. As I was coming down as escalator, I noticed a teenage boy stood at the bottom of the "up" escalator. He was surrounded by half-a-dozen elderly women. Relatives, I assume. While I couldn't hear what he was saying, his meaning soon became apparent; he was teaching them how to ...
Local residents living in Dukesmead Park have previoulsy told members of the local FOCUS Team, that they feel neglected by the City Council and previous councillors for the area, due to their location and seperation from the rest of the ward, by Werrington Parkway. As a result of this view, local LIB DEM ward councillor Darren Fower has regularly made visits to the site and continues to personally deliver the regular FOCUS newsletter to each and every Dukesmead household. If you live in Dukesmead or have any comments to make please leave them below! Thank you!
With his big beard, Rowan Williams looks the ideal Archbishop of Canterbury. Well, that's the nice bit over with. I've never been a member of the Church of England - both my youthful Christian tribes rather looked down on it as something wishy-washy in between - but I've always taken an interest in its politics, not least because the House of Lords is stuffed with unelected bishops who boss the rest of us around and seem mainly to come out of the woodwork to hate the gays. I remember when Dr Williams was appointed, to the joy of 'liberal' Anglicans ...
As news breaks of a likely eight-week suspension of Sunday trading laws for the Olympics (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/mobile/uk-17419351), are we to expect a decree from the London Beth Din suspending the Jewish sabbath (shabbat) on Saturdays? As an agnostic, I mark the sabbath on a God-given eighth day of the week, which might or might not actually exist. To declare a disinterest, although some of my best grandparents were Anglicans, I am myself Jewish, leading a largely secular lifestyle and not being 'shomer shabbat' (observant of the Jewish sabbath). Of course, I shop on Sundays, and actually nothing makes me grumpier than ...
Norfolk sixth-form students, together with Norfolk MPs Simon Wright and George Freeman, have returned from a one day visit to the former Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz-Birkenau. The Holocaust Education Trust organised the visit as part of their ongoing project to give students the opportunity to learn about the events that took place at Auschwitz-Birkenau during the second world war. Students from City Academy Norwich, Hewett School, Norwich High School for Girls, Wymondham College and Dereham Sixth Form College joined others from across the East of England to visit the sites. Reflecting upon the visit, Norwich South MP Simon Wright ...
There has been much spinning lately from the Conservative party and the media that the 50% rate is harmful for the economy. The argument goes that getting rid of this - and bringing in a 10% tax cut for those on incomes of over £150,000 - will somehow contribute towards growth. Historians often accuse politicians of ignoring the lessons of history - and this is another example. In 1979, the first budget of the Thatcher government saw the top rate reduced from 83% down to 60%. In 1988, the top rate was reduced further to 40%. Now if we are ...
The Lib Dems' newest cabinet minister Edward Davey, secretary of state for energy and climate change, is the subject of an extensive profile in the latest issue of The House magazine, re-printed on PoliticsHome. And it sounds like he couldn't be much happier: "This is the thing I wanted to do - it's my dream job. Environment, and the whole climate-change agenda, is one of the reasons I joined the Liberal Democrats. It's something that really motivates me in politics and it's a great privilege to be here. ... I'm not going to be giving in on Liberal Democrat policies ...
A tight schedule to the opening of the University Technical College at the Kingsland site, Houghton Regis, in September this year, is forcing Central Bedfordshire Council to look to early agreement of £400,000 worth of expenditure to help make the site ready. Reports to go before CBC Executive Committee on 27th March point out that the authority will lose £111,000 per annum rental income from Central Bedfordshire College, as their use of the site buidings at Kingsland reduces. This income will not be replaced by the UTC as the government require the lease/s to the UTC to be for 125 ...
All, Last post today, I promise. I've now closed the supermarket poll – but here are the results: Those in favour of the supermarket 85%, those against 15%. There are a number of qualifiers that need to be said about the poll. Not everyone has access to the internet, and – as odd as this may sound – not everyone reads my blog! on top of that 136 votes is probably not the most representative sample out there. What it does show, though, is that feelings are running high in the town. Whatever your views, please go to the Stratford ...
The annual "Parish Meeting" is to be held on 19th April. This year the "Parish Meeting" is to be held on a different date to the Town Council's annual meeting -- now why didn't anyone think of that? Oh, wait, we did, but the council decided to have them consecutively on the same date last year. The venue and time are to be confirmed, but I think that they're trying to arrange the Isabella Centre This year, we're to have two "Parish Meetings" , or as one councillor said recently two "Annual Meetings" . I'm not sure of the legalities ...
Read the background to this protest on BBC News.
All, The second bit of news is a bit better. Johnsons are extending the route on some of its journeys on the 23 which will link Shipston and Moreton. The service will start sometime in April and the timetable will be available here shortly. Apologies to Johnsons (whose website is here) whose picture (above) I have unashamedly ripped off. Philip Philip
Sun 18th
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DASS Management Structure (Wirral Council) | (Department of Adult Social Services) | Wirral DASS Man...
As there have been some searches made to the blog about the Social Services management structure I thought I would explain the current structure (or at least with the caveat that obviously this changes over time), along with contact details (whether email or phone). For each tier of management, I've given it a number followed ...
Shipston Library All, The first of two bits of local information today. Everyone will know about the County Council's 'consultation' on reducing the opening hours of libraries. From the 1st April the reduced opening hours for Shipston Library will be: Monday – 09:30 - 12:30 Tuesday – 09:30 - 12.30, 13:30 - 17:30 Wednesday – Closed Thursday – 09:30 - 12.30, 13:30 - 17:30 Friday – Closed Saturday – 09:30 - 12:30 Sunday – Closed Remember the Library is also the contact point for the District Council, County Council and the Police – so I would like someone from the ...
When I unrolled the blue bags from Wokingham Borough Council, I was a bit surprised they were so small. Definitely smaller than my usual black sack. But then I compared one to the 60 litre bags I buy for my kitchen swing bin. And guess what? The swing bin bags are bigger. The Wokingham Borough Council website says "The 80L sacks are big enough to line a dustbin, please tie the bag up when collection is due. "http://www.wokingham.gov.uk/rubbish/waste-changes/ 80 litre sacks? Really? Big enough to line a dustin? Really? Here's the photo of a blue bag compared to my 60 ...
Over at PoliticsHome, Mark Gettleson puts Lib Dem campaigning under the microscope to ask what the 2015 general election might hold for the party. He makes four points: 1. In 2010, the Lib Dems won the air war and lost the ground war There had been an uncoordinated increase in votes - around a million - largely in seats they were not going to win. But what was clear was that the party lacked the kind of national organisation into which to feed the volunteers of Cleggmania, the ability to measure success in given seats (few saw the loss of ...
Brookvale Village Hall, which is owned by the Brookvale Community Association, off Lower Brook Street, installed 40, 10kW electricity generating (PV) solar panels.The £21,000 scheme was funded through the Basingstoke Community Energy Co-op, a not-for-profit scheme that lets communities across the borough invest in large-scale solar projects, and claim back money generated.According to
12-step recovery programme offers hope to Fianna Fáil - The Irish Times - Sat, Mar 17, 2012 How to rebuild your political party from defeat. (tags: politics ) Map of Ikea | Pleated-Jeans.com #fb So, so true... (tags: maps ) TAR-DISsed: PayPal, PR and Doctor Who - Forbes Forbes analyses Paypal's apology. But fails to note that PayPal UK was the arm that got it right for "Behind The Sofa", while PayPal (US) got it wrong with Regretsy and the violin; I wonder if that is relevant? (tags: doctorwho paypal ) When Ulysses S. Grant expelled the Jews A military ...
This morning's Independent reports that there were fears of a "dirty tricks" campaign against Ed Miliband yesterday after Scotland Yard confirmed it is investigating a break-in at the Labour leader's offices at the Houses of Parliament. The paper says that police were called on Friday evening after a member of staff reported that a door had been forced at the suite of offices in Norman Shaw North building: Labour spokesmen and the Metropolitan Police refused to give more details about the investigation. The same area of Parliament has been plagued by thefts in recent months. However, the incident has raised ...
Witness the exciting tale of My First Sewing Class and the Consequences Thereof ... as posted to the sewing community on Dreamwidth (tags: self ) This rang some bells with me (tags: lgbt ) Signal Boost for Antipodean Folks: House of Reps marriage equality survey (tags: lgbt ) In which I agree with George Osborne, but not for the reason he'd like Of course, even Andrew's version of the thing does nothing to solve the EVERYTHING'S IN LONDON!!! problem... (tags: politics ) High Court confirms 'cheap DVD' tax loophole will close Byebye Play.com. :( (tags: bloodytories ) Cineworld cuts online ...
On Thursday in Strasbourg MEPs debated the European Union's response to the Schmallenberg Virus (SBV), the first "wholly new virus to be seen for two decades" that continues to spread across Europe and has been identified in a small number of isolated cases across the West Country.South West Conservative MEP Julie Girling spoke on behalf of her political group in the debate and called on the
Next week in Brussels, MEPs in the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety Committee (ENVI) will get to vote on one particular dossier that is causing two of our MEPs some discomfort: the list of permitted Article 13.1 health claims made on foods.South West Conservative MEP Julie Girling, a member of the ENVI Committee, is proposing a 'middle way' to qualm the furore over the European health
An article in the Independent in 2004 advised that we were caught on camera on average 300 times a day. One has to wonder what that figure is today? with CCTV cameras watching us on the road, in case we infringe bus lanes, ... Continue reading →
There are no meetings scheduled for Blyth Town Council next week It doesn't mean that councillors or the staff aren't working , it just means that there are no formal meetings scheduled.
The Friends of the University of Dundee Botanic Garden hold their next event on Wednesday 4th April at 7pm in the Education Centre at the Botanic Garden Graeme Butler of the Rumbling Bridge Nursery will give an illustrated talk entitled "Gardening with Alpines", with particular emphasis on some lesser known plants that grow in this area. Coffee, tea and biscuits and a chance to talk and ask questions will follow the talk. Car parking is free and admission is £2 but Friends who produce valid membership card attend free of charge. The Friends are looking for a new membership secretary ...
As this post goes live, the lights will be going out in Melbourne's Albert Park and the first Grand Prix of the 2012 Formula 1 season will be underway. I can't begin to describe the excitement I feel about having it back - or about the fact the there's a McLaren 1-2 on the grid. One thing that is missing, though, is Fleetwood Mac's The Chain as this race will be carried live on Sky, with the BBC only having the highlights later. It's a new era for coverage of the sport in the UK and such a shame as ...
As someone who has worked in public houses for many years, I have come to dread "Paddy's" aka St Patrick's Day aka International Get Pissed And Shout At People For No Reason Day. Even the sanest of people seems to see Paddy's as an excuse to let down their hair, their morals, and more often than you'd think, their trousers. And then sing songs which they think of as Irish (usually something by Thin Lizzy) badly, out of tune, and getting the words worng. Then drink some more. Then throw up. I fucking hate it. And tomorrow morning (or rather, ...
