Today saw another section of the A470 signed off and named, The Royal Welsh Way.The section in question is the Bodysgallen Hall Hotel Stretch. I now need to work on further funding for four more road signs. Once again Thanks to all that have assisted in this worthwhile project.
Two minutes 17 seconds of US punk legends the Ramones...
dsfddsfg df fdsfdsfdsf
Posted in CommunityLangworthySalfordSalford Advertiser columns The Langworthy Cornerstone community building celebrated its tenth anniversary with a fun-filled day which also marked five years since the children's centre opened in the landmark facility. Prior to 2002 the corner of Langworthy Road and Liverpool Street housed the old clinic, a dilapidated building which desperately needed replacing with a venue that could still house a GP surgery, but could offer the Seedley and Langworthy community so much more. The idea of the Cornerstone was born and when completed it was officially opened by local MP Hazel Blears. A charity, made up primarily of ...
Wapley Bushes has won the Green Flag Community Award 2012, the national award scheme for well-managed, high-quality public and community parks and green spaces. The entry combined Wapley Bushes Local Nature Reserve, including the recently-planted Jubilee Hedge, with the new Orchard for the Future, which aims to restore heritage varieties of fruit in a public orchard. It is particularly pleasing that Wapley has gained the Community Award because it recognises the efforts of all the volunteers from Wapley Bushes Conservation Group and other organisations, with the support of Dodington Parish Council and South Gloucestershire Council.. The award will be presented ...
I wrote this post several months ago in response to an article on the Daily Telegraph website. I never quite got round to finishing and publishing it before going on a longer than anticipated hiatus. But still I might as well post rather than delete it, and the general issue it addresses is still relevant. Peter Oborne has written that the coalition won't see out 2012 and agrees with Mark Oaten's view that coalitions are always disastrous for the smaller party. It gets swallowed up, blamed for the failures and only rarely credited with the successes, and then not nearly ...
Days after Lee Dixon announced that he was leaving the BBC, ITV have released a press release confirming that he would be joining the channel. This happened on the same day that Gareth Southgate left his job at the FA meaning that Lee Dixon is in effect the replacement for Martin O'Neill who left ITV for the managers job at Sunderland in the middle of the last football season. The pree release reads as follows: ITV have announced that Lee Dixon has joined its pundit team covering the range of major football competitions broadcast by the channel. The former Arsenal ...
... I saw this on Facebook and had to steal it!
Channel 4 have presented a piece about the refugees who leave this country because they cannot get a fair trial in England (and Wales). This is actually mainly an English and Welsh problem. There is a problem in Scotland and Northern Ireland, but proportionally it is much worse in England and Wales. That is because the jurisdiction that has problems is the English and Welsh jurisdiction. The
Twice this week I have whizzed past remarkable and unexpected buildings on the bus. Not have the OS map with me at the time, I have been obliged to pore over bus timetables, Google Maps and even Google Satellite to identify them. But I think I have managed it in both cases. The first was on the bus journey from York to Ripon, when I saw a remarkable domed 18th century building behind an ancient church. This turned out to be the Thompson Mausoleum at Little Ouseburn, built in 1742 for Henry Thompson of Kirkby Hall. It had fallen into ...
Friday: For a minute, it looked like flash of hope, maybe even SANITY, was creeping into things. Sure, there's been military coup in the nation's capital that has transformed homes into missile launch pads and sees Apache helicopters buzzing our flat on an hourly basis... And yes, that pie-faced cretin Mr Balloon is planning on using VOODOO to tell who is and isn't a dangerous child-offender... But at least the Kafka-esque nightmare of the Naked Rambler was over, and he'd been allowed to walk away from prison. Naked. Only now they've locked him up again. In so many ways: BUM! ...
There is a path that runs in parallel to the playing fields of St. Clare's Catholic School in Fagley, Bradford. Along its sides grow thistles and nettles and every type of suburban wild flower. Walk down from the path's entrance on Moorside Road, avoid the prickles and stinging leaves, and ignore the bark of loud, ...
Warwickshire County Council has issued a "good news story" press release today, welcoming a new tenant into its building at 129-131 Warwick Road, Kenilworth. The outcome is very good news, for both the county council and for Kenilworth. A valued local employer, Proserve Ltd, with an urgent need for extra space to meet an increased order book, has been able to stay in the town rather than look for premises elsewhere. However, until last week the council was intent on demolishing the building immediately, at an estimated cost of £100,000, and leaving the site vacant for possibly many years until ...
Below are recently submitted Planning Applications in the Chorlton area. You can find out more information about any of the proposals on the City Council's Planning Portal at http://tinyurl.com/yv6lex or by contacting the South Area Planning Group Manager - Roger Hall; Tel: (0161) 234 4536; email: r.hall@manchester.gov.uk . You can also make a Planning representation (in support or opposition) to Mr Hall or the designated planning officer for each application. Please feel free to contact me on (07947383740; cllr.v.chamberlain@manchester.gov.uk) if you wish to discuss any application and please also send me a copy of any representation you make. 099719/FU/2012/S1 562 ...
It's Friday. It's five o'clock. Here's a fistful of lists that sum up the LDV week: 5 most-read stories on LDV this week Why the Lib Dems cannot end the Coalition. And what we should do to try and rescue it. (62 comments) by Stephen Tall How Jeremy Thorpe (and then Nick Clegg) broke the electoral system (38 comments) by Stephen Tall Do the Lib Dems have a core vote, and can we grow it? (33 comments) by Stephen Tall Opinion: Liberal Democrats must not apologise for cuts (38 comments) by David Thorpe Opinion: The Lib Dems' moment of Reckoning ...
The first line of this makes Steve Webb look decidedly lonely. Next time you see Steve, be sure to give him a big hug!
Sixteen months ago, I climbed a rattly staircase behind a restaurant to a fairly typical "start-up loft". My first taste of InMobi. I was enthralled! I've spent the last year driving the developer relationship process in the company, watching as we've grown from 15 people in a small room to 70 people in swanky London offices on the Strand. InMobi has sent me all over the world – South Africa, San Francisco, Romania, Barcelona, Bangalore, Cologne, and Bath! It has been an amazing adventure, working with some incredibly talented people. I've been challenged and stretched, I've presented in front of ...
This postcard is on sale in a tobacconists on the Italian Riviera – just to make UKIP's blood boil I assume! The perfect "wish you were here" for your Eurosceptic friends and relations (that you don't want to see again). Ciao! Filed under: Uncategorized
It always amazes me the responses I get to online postings of mine about successful women (normally in politics and technology,) often with additional comments about how we need more of them. Replies frequently come in the form of "I ... Continue reading →
There is probably no less popular group of people in this country than sex offenders. That's unsurprising, and you certainly won't find me with anything nice to say about them. They are, however, human beings and as such have a right to be treated in a fair and just way by the authorities, the same as you or I. Why? Because once you start picking and choosing who gets human rights and who doesn't, life gets very nasty. Like the old poem says, if you don't stand up when the rights of others are violated, there won't be anyone to ...
I am now three weeks into my self-imposed 'I will buy and read the local newspaper – the Southend Echo every Monday-Friday' commitment. I have to admit that the £6.75 I have spent on doing this hasn't been the best £6.75 that I have ever spent but it has taken me back to being a journalist. One thing though has really stood out and that is they seem to have a photographer at every single local high school prom. When did the high school prom become newsworthy? Can someone enlighten me? Now I know some of you will be thinking, ...
The Congress of the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party (ELDR) is the number one event for Liberal Democrats who want to adopt policies, network and debate in the European context. The 2012 Congress will take place in Dublin on 8-10 November. The main theme of this year will be a liberal roadmap for energy transition in Europe. In addition to debates on this issue, there will be a fringe programme to cater for a broad range of interests, as well as exclusive sessions for parliamentarians. Join the 500 ministers, party leaders, European commissioners, national and European parliamentarians, local councillors ...
Quite a few people have mentioned the issue with weeds growing on roads and pavements around Cheadle & Gatley. In any normal year, these would have been sorted by now as the weedkiller goes down. However, weedkiller's little use in rain as it just gets washed away. So with all the rain this summer, the work to kill off the weeds across Stockport Borough has fallen behind where it would normally be, but is still happening. Some roads in Cheadle & Gatley have already been treated. Those that haven't are due to be sprayed imminently, and it then takes a ...
The announcement yesterday by the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) that its members would strike on Thursday 26th July – the day before the Olympic Games begin – risks turning our country into something just shy of a laughing stock and damaging Britain's reputation and tourism industries in the short and medium term. Tourism is a massive industry and hundreds of thousands of people from countries across the globe will be descending on London over the next few weeks to watch the games. Tourists bring in massive amounts of money into the country, and I'm fairly sure that everybody ...
By Howard of Lib Dem News
In the news is the police officer who struck Ian Tomlinson in 2009 at the G20 protests. He has been cleared of killing Mr Tomlinson who died shortly after being hit. I wrote about the death of Ian Tomlinson on the 9th April 2009 and this blog would not have been written were it not for the personal videos that were published via The Guardian. I can still remember the baton strike and push which is now deemed as 'reasonable force' even though his death had been ruled as unlawful at the inquest a year ago. There is something not ...
Revising "Blogging": blogs and journalism "One reason I blog and comment less on blogs is that I read mostly on my phone or iPad, and typing is a nuisance and linking is a pain." (tags: blogging )
The Prime Minister's recent suggestion that young people under the age of 25 might be barred from receiving Housing Benefit has re-ignited the debate about welfare reform. Talk of a further 'benefits crackdown' duly generated the positive headlines that Downing Street strategists were after, while opponents howled in apocalyptic objection to this latest attempt to control the benefits bill. Pretty soon, the political debate moved on, everyone having fulfilled their roles to perfection. Evil Tory bogeymen, tabloid headline writers, charity campaigners all did exactly what we would have expected them to do. Maybe the specific proposal will remerge in future ...
No, not the title of a new kids novel, it's news that sex offenders face mandatory lie detector tests. It seems Cameron is "impressed" enough (According to the Guardian) with lie detectors to want to use them on sex offenders. Lie detectors that are otherwise inadmissible in court. Fail a lie detector test? Bad luck. "Any offenders found to have broken their licence as a result of a lie detector test would be sent back to prison". Lie detectors only work when people think they work. There is no fundamental difference between this approach and putting someone in a room ...
[IMG: Winston Churchill] "I am an English Liberal. I hate the Tory Party, their men, their words and their methods." So said Winston Churchill in 1903. As a Liberal, Churchill held high government office and, along with Lloyd George, was regarded as one of the driving forces of Asquith's reforming administration. Was Liberalism his true political ideology? Or should we judge his position from his re-ratting in 1924 and his long association and later leadership of the Conservatives? Those were the questions posed in the latest Liberal Democrat History Group meeting, held at the party's spring conference, and here is ...
LOCAL HIGHWAYS MEETINGS ABOLISHED. We are very disappointed that HCC has decided to abolish the regular local highways meetings. Residents will no longer be able to attend, present petitions, hear how their money is being spent. We believe this is undemocratic and a loss of open government. If HCC does not change this decision we will promote regular meetings for discussion and information and debate about local highways issues inviting HCC highways officers, county and district councillors, local residents and residents' associations to attend. ............................................. CARAVAN LANE FOOTPATH ( from the east end of the High Street to Croxley Old ...
Ignorance Of Porn Acronyms makes Newspaper Headline unintentionally hilarious (tags: ) When Flying To The Olympics, Women Are Second Class To Men | The Mary Sue (tags: ) [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
[IMG: Cabinet Office logo] This week the Cabinet Office has published its detailed implementation plan for the introduction of individual electoral registration in England, Scotland and Wales. (Northern Ireland already uses it.) Individual electoral registration has long been pushed for by the Electoral Commission and supported by all three of the main political parties. However, getting the details right is important as this is one of those issues where the administrative details can completely wreck the policy if got wrong. Key elements of the plan include: The move to individual electoral registration will start after the 2014 European Parliament elections. ...
Since writing a blog about a Southwark Streetcar I've been approached by various parties to discuss how we can do this in Southwark. The most promising is a Southwark SuperTram. This comes from a company that have been working on a Preston SuperTram where they're only a planning application away from having all the permissions they need. A Southwark SuperTram could cost £55M and connect London Bridge with Kings College & Maudsley hospitals close to Denmark Hill station. Why this route? Well with t he South London Line closing it would link two hospitals into London Bridge and Guys Hospital. ...
It's been a while since we've a Tour where all the major issues have been settled so early. After his performance yesterday, there's no way Thomas Voeckler can lose the King of the Mountains title, and while Peter Sagan could theoretically be caught in the points competition if Andre Greipel won every sprint up to and including the Champs-Elysees while Sagan barely figured, it's not likely to happen. In the young riders white jersey competition, Tejay Van Garderen has a three minute lead over Thibaut Pinot (with third place Steven Kruijswijk an hour behind) and isn't likely to surrender that ...
The Senior Returning Officer, Jonathan Davies, has asked us here at Liberal Democrat Voice Towers to pass on a message on behalf of Chairs of Shortlisting Committees in Scotland and the English Regions. And I paraphrase just a bit... If you want to be a contender, don't forget that the deadline for applications is 6 p.m. on Friday 27 July So don't... * Mark Valladares is Chair of the Shortlisting Committee for the East of England, and can assure you that he and his colleagues are gentle people who really like applicants, really we do...
Friday As I have recorded here before, we gave up our attempt to split the atom early here in Rutland, finding them Terribly Fiddly. However, I am enthused by talk of a new subatomic particle by the name of the 'Higgs boson'. For this, I surmise, must be named for the Lancashire, Leicestershire and England seamer Ken Higgs, presumably because it has a broad bottom and can reel off a string of maiden overs even when the pitch is not helpful. It's just a shame that one will need a powerful pair of field glasses to see it. Previously in ...
Cllr Tim Ward In response to a question on the cam.transport discussion board (which is, despite Facebook, Twitter, et al still incredibly active!) Cllr Tim Ward, Cambridge City Executive Councillor for Planning and Climate Change addressed the possibility of tolling on the existing sections of the A14. Here's the original question/ comment Tim was responding to; Hopefully before the tolls are brought in, but given the cart before horse planning that appears to be a feature of infrastructure work in this country I wouldn't hold out too much hope. And here's Cllr Wards' response; There's a "no tolling on existing ...
There have been no posts for a while as I have been spending a week with friends near London. Among other things we saw the musical version of "Billy Elliott", all of us for the second time. The advantage of this live show over the film is that the dancing cannot possibly have been faked, speeded up or otherwise technologically advanced: these amazing actors really are achieving these impossible-looking feats before our very eyes. In the version we saw Billy was played by a child of 11. It must be daunting to achieve so much at that age and still ...
Yesterday was the stage that the contenders were meant to take on Bradley Wiggins and his Sky Train. Only Vincenzo Nibali's team of Liquigas-Cannondale can have been charged with attempting that. From the slopes of the penultimate mountain of this year's Tour, Port de Balès, their men were on the front setting the pace. There was just one issue, behind them Wiggins had four men including Chris Froome looking after him. One of who was Richie Porte who along with Mark Cavendish had crashed in the feed zone just before the climb got under way and who had to change ...
Further to the recent petition by over 230 residents of the West End and workers at the Technology Park opposing the recent change to the Number 5 bus route, the Managing Director of National Express Dundee, has responded to me saying he's given the petition consideration but: "I still believe that our decision was correct & we have no plans to revert this service to its former route. Please pass on my appreciation to the signatories and also my regret that National Express Dundee are unable to meet their aspirations in respect of this matter." I will continue to press ...
It seems that the First Minister unveiled a new media briefing room in Cathays Park yesterday. Modelled on the West Wing press room, the new set-up has cost the taxpayer £22,000, including a new £1,800 lectern and an imposing £4,500 slate seal, engraved with the words 'First Minister of Wales'. Welsh Office Minister and Clwyd West Conservative MP, David Jones is unimpressed. He wrote on Twitter: "Does no one in WAG wonder how the Cathays Oval Office will look to North Walians?: "As constituency MP, I'm appalled at insensitivity of WAG flaunting mini Oval Office on day we hear North ...
Source: youtube.com via Michael on Pinterest Been introduced by Andrew to Alexander Rybak who got the highest vote ever in the Eurovision Song Contest back in 2009. I've been listening to various of his songs nearly all night as I complete my law essay... Filed under: Blogging, Music
