I lived life, if you can call it lived, by drifting through time. I took no account of the present and just things happened and I never stopped and thought. Life was passing, but I didn't ask the vital questions about life itself. Then events in life occurred which plunged me into a phase of
I had previously been using my blog to occasionally vent my thoughts on particular issues that came up at a given time. Whilst this may still happen, I think it can be used much more productively. My broad plan is to write full length answers to a whole range of issues in order to make
Yesterday i saw a Tweet that caused a mixture of offence and general humour and I thought I would share it with you and present the defence. Firstly I should outline the cause. In yesterday's blog post I wrote the following :- i) The need of the Nation outweighs the need of the Locality but would be open to a case by case basis and discussion at an arranged forum with the electorate. ii) In Wartime - I don't mean like Iraq or Afghanistan I mean if the German army are holidaying in Calais preparing to paddle over the channel ...
Strangely it is almost 9 months since I first sent a Freedom of Information request on this issue. I received two responses the first telling me that the Department of Health, Social Services and Pensions would not be able to respond to me within the required deadline. The second that as the Minister had yet to made a decision on the issue that they could not disclose any information to me at that point. Well it appears that for the second time, the first is here, Edwin Poots has made a decision. Therefore it was time to raise a new ...
The Liberal Democrat leader and deputy prime minister has written a guest blog on next week's Rio+20 Summit - held two decades after the original Earth Summit for the RSPB: First, national governments must move beyond a narrow understanding of wealth. Right now we judge how well a country is doing by looking almost exclusively at the money it makes. But to fully judge success we need a kind of 'GDP+', which takes into account the state of assets like forests or coastal areas - vital natural capital. We're reforming the UK's national accounts so that, by 2020, they also ...
If they gave Olympic medals for falling asleep in front of the television, my Dad would have a bucketload. That explains why, completely independently and 150 miles apart, my sister and I both bought him the same Father's Day card. It depicted a man lying on the sofa with the caption "Dad was an expert at watching tv with his eyes closed". Certainly once I'd seen that card, no other would do. Nevertheless as we set off to visit my parents this afternoon, I rather apprehensively hoped that the bottle of Remy Martin would be enough to atone for my ...
Ed Miliband is going to form a new centre-left grouping with Francois Holland, the French President that will challenge the centre-right ideology of austerity. Ed says in an interview with The Independent that, "There is a grip of centre-right leadership on Europe which has said there's only one way forward and that's austerity...' I fear Ed maybe right. The Greek have split their vote between the centre-right and centre-left party tonight. France out rightly rejected Nicolas Sarkozy who was part of the Cameron-Merkel school of austerity cuts. There is a growing move to the centre-left. People are looking for alternative ...
I was invited along as a guest on the Sunday politics show today. I was speaking as a representative of the NO2ID privacy campaign on the issue of the draft communications bill. The video within the program shows how the bill could help combat serious criminals, however what it doesn't explain very well is that the bill also gives the government to grant people other than the police access to this information. Picture taken by @charlesmaggs The police need tools to fight serious crime, but if they need this as part of an investigation they should have to get a ...
Every good band needs a lost genius. Pink Floyd had Syd Barrett and Fleetwood Mac had Peter Green. Born in London's East End as Peter Greenbaum, he joined John Mayall's Bluesbreakers as Eric Clapton's replacement while still a teenager. He formed Fleetwood Mac with Mick Fleetwood, John McVie and Jeremy Spencer, but there was no doubt who was the most significant figure: the band was orginally billed as Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac. The band's first album was released in February 1968 and, according to an article on The Penguin, saw its members acclaimed as "the new crusaders of the English ...
My dear Niece, I am writing this letter to you on the day prior to your birth while sitting in your grandparents' kitchen. This June 17 is perhaps an unremarkable day in many respects: the sun is inconsistent, I can hear the birds singing to each other in a high pitched tone out in the ...
Writing in the Guardian of Sir John Major's appearance before the Leveson Inquiry, Simon Hoggart said: Perhaps the most moving moment came when he launched an encomium to Neil Kinnock. "The Neil Kinnock I knew was very honest, straightforward, and if something was said in private, it stayed private. If he gave his word, he kept his word. He was a much more considerable person than the media portrayed." This too had the ring of a simpler, a more decent past, when we regarded our opponents as rivals rather than enemies. And it was apropos of absolutely nothing!Nostalgia is always ...
Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 278th 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 (10-16 June, 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. Tony Greaves is ...
Today is Father's day. About 24 years ago just after I had turned 18 my father took me somewhere that in our family was somewhat of a right of passage, to the Good Templar Hall on Hamilton Road for a cup of tea and a biscuit. Of course before that I had to give a little something in return a unit of my O- blood. Like my father and grandfather I then had a little book showing that I was a blood donor. The last little piece of paper that was placed in that book shows that I gave blood ...
There are a number of false assumptions and misunderstandings doing the rounds on the internet and, sadly, in news studios the country over. I hope to answer some of the serious questions and concerns people have about marriage equality in order to make things a little clearer. Would legalising same-sex marriage force churches to carry out ceremonies whether they wanted to or not? (As asked by Guy Fawkes here) Firstly consider that, at this stage of the debate, the Government has no official plans to allow ANY legal same-sex marriages to be carried out on religious premises. They have specifically ...
As GeoConnexion reports: Ordnance Survey and GeoPlace have welcomed the Cabinet Office's call for greater use of Unique Property Reference Numbers (UPRNs) across the public sector, to support the move towards individual electoral registration (IER). UPRNs are assigned to address records by local authorities at the planning stage and persist for the lifetime of each and every property across Great Britain. This means that every property is uniquely recorded and can be unequivocally identified by any organisation that holds the UPRN in its own records. Ordnance Survey publishes the UPRNs in its AddressBase range of products. [IMG: Electoral register form] ...
It has been a big week in my ongoing spiritual odyssey, as I wrestle with my agnostic contradictions. My anti-Church hackles were raised, all too predictably, by the Church of England's response to the Government's consultation on gay marriage. But I was was disarmed by the response of a priest to a blog on the subject. And then I chanced into hearing an episode of Richard Holloway's radio series Honest Doubt. First that Church response on gay marriage. To start with I relied on news reports, mainly from the BBC. And these were (predictably) provocative – saying that the Church ...
Living in Cambridgeshire, it is very flat. I am lucky to be living up in what passes for "them thar hills" so I can indulge in long strolls along relatively flat ground with the occasional rolling bits. Today I decided to walk out from Balsham along to the Fleam Dyke, and then take a right turn back to Balsham along part of the Harcamlow Way. I did have an ulterior method. I wanted to check out the Wadlow Wind Farm that is being built as we speak. Up to now, I had only seen the turbines from the road whilst ...
I am delighted to have been appointed as the Chair of the Dulwich Community Council for the 2012-13 municipal year. The devolved decision making powers of our local ward based community councils provides the perfect vehicle to involve residents in ... Continue reading →
They say history never repeats itself, but when the Labour party is involved, you can be at least sure that it'll rhyme. And once again, the far left of the party is indulging itself in an ideological battle. The target this time is the Blairite thinktank Progress, the GMB union having submitted a rule amendment to outlaw it as a part of the Labour party. This represents a real chance for Lib Dems to realign the centre, a process which has already began with the Coalition, and liberal-leaning Cameronite Conservatives becoming closer to we Liberal Democrats than the right-wing fringes ...
I just sent the draft motion on Equal Citizenship (the updated version of this draft motion can be found here) off to the Lib Dem Federal Conference Committee (FCC) for drafting advice. This involved emailing the specific email address they have set up to provide drafting advice. Here's the auto reply email I just got: The deadline for advice requests on amendments and emergency motions for Newcastle/Gateshead has now passed. The deadline for amendments and emergency motions to the Newcastle/Gateshead Conference is 13.00 on Tuesday 6th March 2012. They should be sent to motions@libdems.org.uk The Conference Committee will meet to ...
Tring Mayor with Anna and David at Anusia Café The Mayor was delighted to be invited to a small ceremony on Friday morning (15/06/12) at David and Anna Metcalfe's café next to Metcalfe's Hardware Store in Tring High Street. The name "Anusia" derives from the 'friendly form' of the name "Anna" – in the same way that "Henry" can be called "Harry" or "Benjamin" can be called "Benny". And "friendly" is the word for the welcome and service you will receive from Anna and her staff. The first class coffee, cakes, snacks and soups – all vegetarian – makes Anusia ...
The sky was clear, too clear for Jonathon's liking. With the N'kell's aerial supremacy the small flight of bombers were a sitting target. To make matters worse the army had sent in commandos to set up a dampening field to nullify all scopes along the flight path so they would know that they were coming and which way. So far he'd been surprised the enemy hadn't flooded the gap. "It's too quiet." He muttered across Channel 7 to Doolan. "I hear that." He could hear the tension in her voice, the concentration as she checked instruments and visual scanning. The ...
David Cameron supports gay marriage because he is a Conservative. The Church of England tells us that gay marriage is against canon law. Do you have to be against canon law to be a Conservative? It would seem so if we believe David Cameron. Whoever coined the phrase about the Anglican Church being the "Tory Party at prayer" needs to reconsider. Change the world
Patrick O'Flynn, writing in the Daily Express of 16th June reports that one of his informants claims that the membership of the Conservative Party has fallen from 296000 when Cameron became leader to 160000 today. Just thought that might cheer us up a bit. Anybody want to take a wager that sometime towards the end of next year the Tories might dump Cameron just like they did the sainted Margaret? And guess who is positioning himself to take over? St. George of the Treasury?
The fall out over last weeks, Labour motion to refer Jeremy Hunt to the independent advisor on the ministerial code, Sir Alex Allan, leaves the Lib Dems again in a rock and a hard place. We try to take a moral tone and fall short; we should have voted for a referral, Hunt should face an inquiry. The facts speak for themselves. · His self-confessed Champion for Murdoch status, it is as biased as Vince's 'going to war with Murdoch' stance. · Was unaware of the likely hood of the phone hacking scandal, one can only surmise that he was ...
What a joyful story, that of Martha Payne a blogger aged nine, defeating the typical public authority ethos which doesn't allow for free and open discussion. As we all know, Martha Payne, had the temerity to photograph her school dinners, a simple and marvellous idea for her blog, NeverSeconds, and as we also know busy bodies at the local council Argyll and Bute didn't like it, although anyone else would recognise a very well produced and thought out blog. Martha Payne has also managed, to collect £75,531 in charitable donations so far. People often knock bloggers, particularly journalist and of ...
Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has announced that Hornsey Town Hall has been given initial support for a £3.7 million bid including £482,600 of development funding. An impressive example of 1930s British Modernism, Hornsey Town Hall which has been out of regular use for the last nine years. The green light from HLF will mean plans to conserve the hall can be progressed. Once restored, the hall will be used as an arts, performance and cultural heritage centre for Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts and the wider community. Here is a link to their website for more information about this scheme ...
Filed under: Blogging
This week the New York Times ran a fascinating, detailed study of the drone war being fought by Barack Obama as he decides which alleged terrorists will be targeted by the American military: Mr. Obama has placed himself at the helm of a top secret "nominations" process to designate terrorists for kill or capture, of which the capture part has become largely theoretical. He had vowed to align the fight against Al Qaeda with American values... Mr. Obama is the liberal law professor who campaigned against the Iraq war and torture, and then insisted on approving every new name on ...
The Northern Ireland gay blood ban looks set to continue with the news from the DUP's health minister, Edwin Poots MLA, that he has received some new research strengthening his position. As reported on the BBC, the minister says he doesn't want the ban just to apply to gays. But I have an issue with ...
An interview with Dani Rodrik on Erdoğan, Gülen, and the future of Turkish politics | Balyoz Davası ve Gerçekler Fascinating. (tags: turkey )
Reema found herself on a table with Hamish Carpenter, Henry Donaldson,Gwilym Roberts, Lucy Marlowe and Neil Balderson. She guessed Neil would be chair - he was the most senior person present and never off-message whatever the message was. He looked like a greyhound waiting to chase the fake hare, but he did not suggest any activity. "Let's check our roles and stickers," she suggested.They looked around one another and checked. Neil was indeed chair. Gwilym Roberts was facilitator, perhaps on the grounds that idleness made openings for dry wit, so it was best to keep him busy. Henry Donaldson, the ...
The £1bn contract for reactors for the next generation of the UK's nuclear-armed submarines to be announced by Defence Secretary Philip Hammond will create 300 jobs. I make that a mere £3,333,333 per job. Why is defence spending always justified by the jobs it creates ? Also, could someone explain exactly what Trident is defending us against ?
Another excellent series of podcasts from the BBC, exploring Shakespeare's plays in the wider context of culture, politics and knowledge of the times; twenty 13-minute pieces, all presented by Neil McGregor, the Director of the British Museum, who was such a success with the History of the World in 100 Objects podcast series. The single one which was most useful to me was the one abouit Ireland, making the point that MacMorris is in fact the only Irish speaking character in Shakespeare, though there are plenty of Scots and several Welsh; and many plays have kern or gallowglass hovering round. ...
Today's Telegraph reports that a new Government contract for nuclear reactors in submarines brings the renewal of Trident a lot closer and creates a rift with the Liberal Democrats.Well, I'm glad that they recognise our point of view on this, that we fought the last election on a policy of there being no like for like replacement of Trident. Can I suggest that before we get ourselves in a twist about this, we read what Liberal Democrat defence minister Nick Harvey wrote on Liberal Democrat Voice last month. The main decision will not be made until after the next General ...
I am aware that some people believe that ticket touts do a good job (see my blog entry for the 15th July 2009). I am not keen on an unregulated industry even if it is open to everyone in places like eBay and doesn't just depend on which street you walk down. Today I am reading that the International Olympic Committee is investigating claims that Olympics representatives are willing to sell thousands of tickets for the London Games on the black market. Well is this fundamentally wrong? I don't think so even though I disagree with it. I recognise that ...
There was a moment on the BBC's Question Time this week when someone asked Liberal Democrat Party President Tim Farron whether he agrees with any of the Coalition government's policies. It was a forgivable jibe and actually quite useful, as it gave Tim an opportunity to "differentiate". I wager that is going to be the buzzword at the ...
There seems a bit of a trend at the moment for 'un named but senior' Lib Dems to keep telling the press off-the-record that they really did want Jeremy Hunt investigated by the Standards Commissioner. The latest piece appears in The Observer, where it seems Nick personally told Jeremy Hunt he should refer himself. The trouble is - we had a chance to make our position on this completely clear. There was a vote in the House of Commons which allowed our MPs to tell the world what they thought. I believe they should have taken that opportunity and voted ...
Statement on school meals from Argyll and Bute Council | Argyll and Bute Council (tags: ) Lara Croft - The problem with the rape scene - Milena Popova (tags: ) [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
This story in the Sunday Express relates to the proposals by a local authority to remove a baby at birth. (note that there are a number of errors in the Sunday Express Article) Removing a baby at birth is a really draconian thing to do. It has to be based upon a real and urgent threat to the baby. Removing the baby is often harmful to the baby. Hence it has to be a very serious threat. In
My latest piece from the New Statesman... "Our vision - to be the most creative organisation in the world".That's quite a bold and imaginative goal, I would venture. What sort of qualities would you look for in a potential leader of such an organisation?May I suggest that such a leader would be a visionary. Like some modern day soothsayer, they would understand what we want before we know we want it - a Steve Jobs-type character. They would understand every aspect of how we experience creativity in a digital age, as Larry Page and Sergey Brin so clearly do. And ...
Sun 17th
09:10
Opinion: Latest Bank of England liquidity policies not an effective substitute for government action
With every turn of the wheel which drives the Eurozone deeper into crisis, the uncertainty which clouds the UK's economic prospects grows more pronounced. As events in Spain and Greece, in particular, consign the Eurozone to a state of paralysis, UK consumers, banks and businesses can but bide their time and await the final fallout. In those circumstances, measures which help to create certainty and boost economic confidence should be welcomed. But the measures announced by the Bank of England on Thursday, will not achieve their purpose to any significant extent, and should not be treated as a substitute for ...
Following the revelation that NHS Tayside medical records have been found dumped in a bin recess area at the back of tenements in West Port, I have had several constituents express concern about this and I have written to the Chief Executive of NHS Tayside in the following terms: "I have had a number of constituents express concern to me about the recent finding of medical records dumped in a bin recess area in the West Port area of my ward. I would be grateful if you would give me an explanation as to how this happened and a reassurance ...
I do not know whether the Liberal Democrats will be able to stop the renewal of the Trident missile system or not. However, what I do know is that suggestions that recent decisions make it a done-deal are premature and wildly inaccurate. Yesterday's Daily Telegraph has joined in the hysteria. They say that a deal to be announced by Defence Secretary, Phillip Hammond, ordering nuclear reactors for a new class of submarines to replace the current Vanguard fleet, which carries Britain's Trident nuclear arsenal, is the most public statement yet that the Government is committed to a full-scale replacement of ...
I have had the pleasure of attending a number of events run by the excellent Russian School at Harris Academy and was delighted to recently make a contribution to the school's new promotional leaflet - see this (right). The school is going for strength to strength and provides a full curriculum for all with an interest and thirst for knowledge in the Russian language, culture and history. You can download a copy of the full leaflet at http://tinyurl.com/dundeerussian.
In which I make the controversial assertion that Talons Of Weng-Chiang is mostly great, but that the rat is dodgy and it's a bit racist.
The Toxic Avenger Sadly this was the theatrical cut, so all the really schlocky bits had been cut :( It was everything I expected it to be, but would have benefited from having the eight minutes that were cut restored. Hammer Make-up Archive Tour The museum holds huge amounts of material from Phil Leakey and Roy Ashton's collections of memorabilia from decades of work at Hammer studios; some of it had been put on display for us to have a nosey at, including Christopher Lee's teeth (from a performance as Dracula) and Tom Baker's mask (I think from Vault of ...
