FROM Sunday (April 1), Cambridgeshire police can only be contacted on 101 for all non-emergency calls. The old 0345 number will be switched off and a recorded message will tell people to call 101. The old number has remained in use alongside 101 for the past year to allow people time to get used to the new number. For the first time, everyone calling the police for non-emergency matters will know exactly how much it will cost them and it will be the same no matter what time of day or the duration of the call. The number change is ...
FROM Sunday (April 1), Cambridgeshire police can only be contacted on 101 for all non-emergency calls. The old 0345 number will be switched off and a recorded message will tell people to call 101. The old number has remained in use alongside 101 for the past year to allow people time to get used to the new number. For the first time, everyone calling the police for non-emergency matters will know exactly how much it will cost them and it will be the same no matter what time of day or the duration of the call. The number change is ...
It's taken forty-seven years, but it looks like I've found my metier. I have turned my mind towards becoming a country gentleman of an enquiring disposition. I could even learn to potter around, drink gin and watch the local wildlife, perhaps all at the same time. And it suits me. I emerge from my country idyll from time to time, and wander around in a slightly puzzled way, wondering why everybody else is in such a hurry. Indeed, why are they? Heaven only knows. At my best, I am a classically well-intentioned amateur, something that has emerged through my work ...
Welcome to Broxtowe Enews, brought to you by the Liberal Democrats and edited by David Watts, the leader of the Lib-Dems on Broxtowe Borough Council. May I give a special welcome to the new readers that we have this week. 1. Beeston Multi-Storey Car Park The multi-storey car park in Beeston closes tonight for the last time, prior to being demolished over the next few weeks to make way for the tram. Even if the tram hadn't been coming the car park would have needed substantial work on it to bring it up to modern standards. Alternative parking can be ...
I'm way behind on book write-ups from my just-concluded trip (which involved one flight departing at 7 am and another at 4 am; and I rarely sleep on planes), but for the record here is my tally for the month of March. Non-fiction 0 (YTD 14) Fiction (other than sf) 4 (YTD 8) Beggars Banquet, by Ian Rankin Desolation Island, by Patrick O'Brian Savrola, by Winston Churchill The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana, by Umberto Eco SF (other than Who) 7 (YTD 21) The Princess Bride, by William Goldman The War of the Ring, by J.R.R. Tolkien Under Heaven, by ...
Over at PoliticsHome, Lib Dem business minister Norman Lamb says business can be a powerful force for good in society, and insists responsible practice is central to his vision. Here's an excerpt: Business is not just about turning a profit and creating wealth. It can, and should also be a powerful force for good in our society. Through responsible behaviour, business can help regenerate communities, develop people's skills, and produce the innovative products and services that improve our wellbeing. Growth and responsibility underpin the work I'm taking forward through Every Business Commits, a framework which challenges businesses of all sizes ...
Natural Childhood, the report written for the National Trust by Stephen Moss, has received a lot of publicity this week. The National Trust website says it: charts years of academic research and a steady stream of surveys on the subject, highlighting how a generation of children is finally losing touch with the natural world. The report outlines a clear need to tackle the rise of 'Nature Deficit Disorder', a term coined by the US based writer Richard Louv, to describe a growing dislocation between children and nature. Report author Stephen Moss, said: "We have all seen the headlines about the ...
Yesterday, I bought a pair of SPD pedals and shoes to go with them - for the non-cyclists amongst my readers, that means the kind of pedal that snaps into the bottom of your shoe, instead of the old-money way of trapping your feet into a cage-like thing attached to the pedal (called a toeclip). (SPDs are a specific kind of step-in pedal designed by Shimano, where the attachment on the shoe is recessed into the sole of the shoe, so that when you're walking around, you aren't clickety-clacking and walking with your toes up in the air.) </technical-ramblings> I've ...
I spent the afternoon at the Green Light Festival, which was held at De Montfort University in Leicester. As billed by its website: Green Light is Leicester's festival of sustainable living. It's organised by a team of passionate local volunteers and showcases the best of all things green in Leicester... through talks, workshops, performance, kids activities and a whole lot more. Leicester's huge range of environmental community projects will be on show, and the event will share lots of ideas for action that you can take at home, in business and in your local community.I attended two of the sessions: ...
Every now and again you get lucky. You get the chance to do something that not many other people can do. A once in a lifetime opportunity. Having given up of seeing the Olympics on my own back yard (i grew up in the east end of London) I was utterly delighted when my good friend ...
Yesterday, I attended the first meeting of the City Council's new school parking and pupil safety working group, following the discussion last month at the council about this issue. There was a useful and detailed discussion about pupil and pedestrian safety outside schools across Dundee and my suggestion of site visits to schools to look at the issues first-hand was agreed to. These visits will take place during April. Various aspects of improving safety at schools were looked into at yesterday's meeting, including parking enforcement, pupil 'walking buses', publicising concerns and looking at the initiatives of other local authorities. A ...
Here are the five posts published on this blog between January and March that recorded the most hits: Last desperate throw of the dice? (11th March) ... but words can never hurt me (20th January) Libdem futures – Implosion or renewal? (15th March) An Elected Mayor for Bristol? (23rd February) Is Liberal Left ludicrous? (8th February) "Last desperate throw ...", about the NHS votes at the Libdem Spring Conference, turned out to be the most popular post so far published on this blog, by a very large margin. March has been the busiest month so far on the blog. Thanks ...
There have been some very fulsome tributes to David Walter here, here and here (and no doubt elsewhere). I would not pretend to have known the man well enough to pay tribute to him in any qualitative form. But I would just say that I approached him at a Lib Dem conference while he was still an ITN journalist, to excitedly tell him that I shared a surname with him. It's not often we Walters meet another Walter without the "s" which is, more often than not, appended to the end of our surname (it happens to other surnames which ...
Lovely to see Robin Meltzer (the man who makes me feel flattered, not bitter, honest) win the Belinda Eyre-Brook campaigner of the year award at today's London Region conference. Much deserved congratulations Robin. Stunned to be presented with Belinda Eyre-Brook Campaigner of the Year Award by @eddaveykands at @LondonLibDems conf twitter.com/robinmeltzer/s... — Robin Meltzer (@robinmeltzer) March 31, 2012
News just in! Traffic Penalty Tribunal finds against Hertfordshire County Council. Adjudicator's decision (1) TRO does not restrict traffic travelling from Leighton Buzzard Road eastwards (2) Vehicles travelling from Leighton Buzzard Road to Waterhouse Street are not contravening any traffic order. (3) Restriction of traffic travelling westwards is unenforceable because HCC have failed in their duty reasonably to bring the effect of the order to the attention of road users (4) Signs at the Bus Lane are unlawfully placed But don't drive through the Bus Lane!! Cameras are still operating and HCC will probably appeal. More detailed news tomorrow.
There is not many issues I consider more important than unionism. I know, I'm not as vocal about it as I used to be. I felt it was the one thing the Tories could be relied upon to defend. They might spend most of their time supporting their rich, business buddies and policing the sexual mores of the population but when it came to the Union, the Tories would be there come what may. Alas... It has becoming increasingly obvious, in the years since 1997's decimation of the Tories in Scotland and the introduction of devolution, that the Tories were ...
Support Earth Hour tonight ...
It's been a tumultuous week in the political world. So let's have a look at how the three main party leaders led from the front in statesmanlike fashion... David Cameron played badminton in a suit... Ed Miliband bought sausage rolls in Greggs... ... And Nick Clegg met President Obama to agree how the UK can help halt trafficking of nuclear material To find out more about what Nick Clegg's been up to this week — such as, y'know, signing a hugely significant Free Trade Agreement between the EU and Korea that will bring an estimated £500 million of annual benefits ...
For those of us who remember Dr Christian Barnard and his pioneering heart transplant surgery, heart transplant is a big deal. It is for others, no doubt. As a fellow human being, with a family, I wish Dick Cheney all the best for a successful recovery from his "heart transplant". Strictly speaking, he hasn't actually had a heart transplant. He's had the installation of an Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD) powered by batteries. It's often described as a "bridge to heart transplant". Rachel Maddow on MSNBC explains with the help of an expert below. There have been lots of jokes ...
Earl Scruggs. "Who he?" comes the shouted communual response from the Liberal Burblings reader, as well as "Ed". Well, he was quite a man. A misucian, but particularly a banjo player. – Ask Billy Connolly, banjo player extraordinaire. I was once forced to present a Country Music show or four on Radio 210 in Reading. I struggled. Country Music just isn't me – even though I do understand the crossplay between it and rock/pop music. But Earl Scruggs was an oasis. "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" can be enjoyed by most people. A sheer piece of beauty. Here he is with it ...
With the local elections just a few weeks away on 3rd May, the Lib Dems have selected hard-working local campaigner Keith Holloway to fight for Cheadle & Gatley – which looks to be another close fight between us and the Conservatives. Last year just 90 votes separated the Lib Dems and the Tories, with Labour finishing a poor third. Keith worked closely with our former MP Patsy Calton and more recently with Mark Hunter MP. He lives in Cheadle Hulme and has recently retired after more than thirty years working in the NHS. Over the last year Keith has been ...
As far as I am aware there are no meetings at Blyth Town Council this comng week. The office will be closed on Friday 6th and Monday 9th for Easter holidays
The Evening Standard has reported: Ken Livingstone was under fresh pressure over his alleged tax avoidance after he was forced to admit using his private company to make a sizable political donation. Mr Livingstone had previously claimed to have personally made a donation to the Labour Party of £19,202 in December for "staff costs" during his election campaign. But he has now confirmed to the electoral commission that the donation came from his private company Silveta Ltd, through which he allegedly avoided at least £50,000 in tax by benefiting from corporation tax at 20 or 21 per cent rather than ...
March 23: visit by Dr Colin Butler, from the Australian NGO BODHI, working in the Chittagong Hill Tracts and elsewhere in South Asia
That quiet liverpool plan Larry Neild on a new marketing plan for Liverpool. Hang on didn't we have one of these the other day? WITHOUT so much as a ticker-tape welcome, cheerleaders or Uncle Sam razzmatzz, Liverpool today announced its ... Continue reading →
Even the extraordinary offer via email received this morning from Mrs Halifat Mohammed offering me an inheritance of 18.2 million pounds has failed to lift my spirits. This week had been truly depressing, pies and pasties going up twenty percent, cretins from the government inspiring panic at filling stations, cretins from the Labour Party getting statesman like in condemnation of Conservative idiot ministers, then spending Friday wondering why George Galloway has run rings round them in Bradford. The thing is most politicians are in politics for self promotion,if you ask me, you've only got to think why fewer and fewer ...
So now we have had the budget. The headlines were all about the so called 'Granny Tax' which is not a tax at all but a reduction in the age related allowance that was put in as a gimmick by Labour to avoid giving a decent basic pension. Long before you get to the average income level of about £26k it starts to be clawed back. And yes,my pension income is big enough to be affected by this & I don't mind. The rise in basic pension & other benefits are better & why should the retired be better off ...
George Galloway's historic victory in Bradford West apparently snuck up on everyone while the inhabitants of the Westminster village were squabbling over their pasty consumption or creating mayhem over the supply of petrol. But for more acute observers - who'd actually been paying attention to the way the campaign in Bradford was evolving - it was less of a surprise. Galloway is in many ways an objectionable character, but he is the consummate politician, an outstanding orator, and can clearly mount an effective local political campaign. There has already been plenty of comment on what this result means. No doubt ...
Thank you to everyone who supported the campaign to get a puffin crossing to replace the existing zebra crossing on Schools Hill. After two bad accidents last year, Keith has been working with local residents to secure it. As part of Sainsbury's expansion of their store at Cheadle Royal, they have to pay money for local road improvements. The Schools Hill puffin crossing was not on the original list, so we have been working with the Council to persuade Sainsbury's to add it - a task that was greatly helped by the many people who signed Keith's petition. We are ...
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PETITION LAUNCHED FOR CARDBOARD & PLASTIC RECYCLING IN SEFTONEarlier this month my Birkdale Ward colleague Cllr Simon Shaw was pushing for Doorstep Cardboard and Plastic Collection to be introduced - with financial help from the Government's £250m "Weekly Collection Support Scheme". Simon, who is Sefton Council's Cabinet Member - Environmental, is calling for residents to show whether they support the bid via an on-line petition at www.southportsays.co.uk .Simon explains: "We are just at the start of a lengthy three stage process run by Eric Pickles' Department for Communities and Local Government, with the final bids being due in mid-August. ...
Sat 31st
11:25
Via PadawanPooh: the boys and girls of Sherlock (inc @markgatiss OMG) in It's Rainin' Men
On the third edit. Bloody embed code not working. Mutter grumble. HERE is video: I'm going to be singing this all day now. Dammit. [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
The Dulwich Leisure Centre has become significantly more popular than before it renovations. It reopened with 63 classes in its studios. Complaints have been made about having more class participants such that its reduced the quality of peoples experience – not enough space to fling an arm let alone a cat. These 63 classes currently host 1,701 participants each week. But so many more people are failing to get places. Now a new rota has been introduced with 80 very slightly smaller classes taking 2,000 participants in total per week. This 18% increase in participants is a good start. But ...
People rushing to the petrol station to fill up their cars. Government press officers running round in circles trying to untangle the latest ministerial comment. Newspaper headline writers displaying their craft at its technical best. The cost of motoring – or more precisely the cost of fuel, as the costs of insurance and the vehicles themselves rarely gets mentioned – has been one of the big issues this week. Yet for all the talk about high fuel prices and petrol shortages, it hasn't triggered any blip in people looking for alternatives. Take a look at Google's search volume data for ...
I love Lib Dem News. Even though I can find out a lot of things going on in the party from other sources, it still tells me things I don't know. In order to get out for Friday, though, the party paper's deadline has to be before the election results come through on a Thursday night/Friday morning. This week that was patently obvious. On the Bradford West by-election, the writer of the "Jeanette says thank you" article had this to say about new MP George Galloway: "The election was livened up by George Galloway, whose attention seeking actions made him ...
Master Post: Favourite Stories Starring Women | women write about comics I'm right at the bottom, but I'm there... (tags: comics ) Favorite Stories Starring Women: Batgirl My fave post from the blog carnival linked above (tags: comics ) Why Galloway? Brilliant analysis of why George Galloway won in Bradford; the only quibble I would have is blaming the Labour council for the mess in Bradford when they haven't had power for more than a couple of years; it was Eric Pickles that caused The Hole AFAIK. (tags: politics ) Lucy Knisley - Down the Who Hole What happens when ...
Labour have been quick to condemn David Cameron for entertaining party donors to dinner but it seems that they are all up to the same tricks. Indeed in the absence of a properly regulated, transparent and restricted party funding system it is hardly surprising that party leaders spend so much time wooing potential donors. After all, money is needed to make the system work. The problem comes when those giving to political parties expect or are led to expect something in return not available to others. The Independent reports that Ed Miliband has met Labour's major union donors more than ...
Sat 31st
08:50
Sarkozy narrows the gap in Presidential contest with implications for British tax debates
Incumbent French President Nicolas Sarkozy is still most likely to lose the French Presidential election, but he's been closing the gap. Having been consistently behind in the polling for the contest's first round, since mid-March polls have often shown him in the lead. Since the first poll to put him ahead, nine have shown him out front and eight have put the Socialist candidate Francois Hollande in front. All of the last four have put Sarkozy ahead. That, however, is the first round picture. The top two candidates will go through to a second round, and here the polling still ...
MP Julian Huppert has launched a search for an apprentice to join his team at his Cambridge constituency office. The apprentice will be the first in a campaign launched by Julian for Cambridge Regional College to recruit 100 apprentices in 100 days. He or she will work 30 hours a week dealing with issues arising from correspondence from constituents, as well as receiving training. The role will involve: Speaking to constituents, other MPs, government departments and agencies by telephone;Monitoring the main casework email address and ensuring that urgent emails receive attention;Opening the post, scanning letters in to our system and ...
As mentioned by Sheena Wellington on MacAulay and Co on Radio Scotland yesterday, here's a reminder of a great event later today from Friends of Wighton: On Saturday 31st March, the monthly cappuccino concert in Dundee's Wighton Centre will be performed by fiddle and guitar duo, Stewart Hardy & Frank McLaughlin. The concert will run from 11am till 12 noon, with complimentary coffee and newspapers served from 10.30am. And in the afternoon, from 2pm, there will be a fiddle workshop and a guitar workshop for anyone who wants to learn some of the musical tricks displayed in the morning's concert! ...
