As part of the 2012 Cultural Olympiad the Lionheart Project saw three giant hand crocheted lions travel around the East Midlands in a custom-built glass case. The sculptures reflected the region in both symbol and materials as Richard the Lionheart's three lions crest was reproduced using wool from the Peak District. I saw the lions at Orton Square in Leicester a few weeks ago. As this video shows, they then travelled on to Northampton - via Market Harborough, you will note. They are now to be found in London at the Natural History Museum.
The Leicester Mercury points out another bonus of David Parsons' resignation as leader of the Conservative-run Leicestershire County Council: Paintings worth hundreds of thousands of pounds which decorated the office of former council leader David Parsons are to go on wider public display. Three works of art that were hanging on the walls of the suite of offices at County Hall have been taken down as part of a refurbishment that follows Coun Parsons's resignation as leader last month.Parsons created his offices in 2009. In total, £64,000 was spent on them and as the Mercury reminds us, the expense was ...
The answer controversially is we do, we need someone awkward enough to tell, Kent's senior police officers when things are clearly in need of improvement, now don't get me wrong I'm not anti police as a default position but there have been times in the last few years, when I've thought who holds our Kent police to account, when things go wrong. Well some would say that the Kent police authority, has held that role, and I would say that rather than a regulator, they've acted more like a fan club or supporters club. On the whole Kent police officers ...
The Earl of Glasgow, says BBC News, has told the corporation that the Liberal Democrats risk looking "foolish" by pursuing reform of the House of Lords and that the party's election hopes could be damaged.: "It's probably going to get bogged down [in Parliament] and I don't think it's going to get through. It's going to be another constitutional humiliation for Nick Clegg and, therefore, the party."Quite why a Scottish house is pontificating on constitutional matters... This just in. It has been pointed out to me that the Earl of Glasgow is not a public house but an hereditary peer ...
One thing with all the multiple Olympic channels is that you can get watch sports and get drama on more than one channel, of your choosing. Earlier this evening I managed to have simultaneous drama in both the North Greenwich Arena and the Excel. First up in the North Greenwich Arena the GB men's gymnastics team were in contention for a medal. Ok it wasn't gold as China had that sown up. But we had a chance for bronze. On the last rotation GB were on floor, chasing Ukraine on rings, meanwhile the Japanese were doing all they could to ...
The final full Council for a few months saw the usual grown up stuff. Conservatives so uterly against something they abstained, later voting against something because they supported it, Labour making passionate speeches discouraging others from supporting something they supported and even I voted for something I didn't like, but excuse myself on the basis I couldn't stop it! It is that final
Not about the Lib Dems before anyone jumps in but more Gymnastics. The GB team had a silver medal in the Men's all around but got bumped down to bronze after the Japanese protested the score of one of their performances. The protest was upheld so the Japanese got what they deserved. However this hasn't exactly been the way social media has seen the action. Both my Facebook timeline and my twitter feed has exploded with people wanting to declare war on Japan, boycott sushi, never visit Japan on holiday, calling the Japanese cheats (and much worse) and I am ...
I'll have a What I Did On My Holiday post up soon, maybe later tonight, but I'm finding typing a little difficult right now, because of all the mosquito bites on my hand. So for now, just have some links: A rather wonderful find — a Polish radio station has, apparently legally, got all 1001 ...
I've blogged before about the unusual decisions on where to spend the advertising budget for Haringey Council's One Borough, One Future fund. What about the decisions on what the fund should support? Bailing out the Labour-run council's own failed policies looks to be a runner, judging by the latest news: It has been revealed that Haringey Council has applied to its own 'One borough, One future' fund in order tackle problems with bin collections. Liberal Democrats have said that this is the clearest sign yet that Labour's introduction of fortnightly residual waste collections is in chaos as the Council itself ...
One of my biggest gripes with Car Insurance Premiums is that there is a lack of transparency in how they are calculated. There seems to be no relation between prices and accident levels. Here is how the Manchester Evening News reported ... Continue reading →
Under the Welfare Reform Act 2012, passed by the government earlier this year, Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for disabled people of working age is due to be replaced by Personal Independence Payments (PIPs) with a net result of a 20% reduction by 2015 in the DLA budget – it is worth pointing out at this point that the fraud rate for DLA is estimated by the Department of Works and Pensions to be less than 0.5%. Last month a report called Reversing Recovery: The hidden economic costs of welfare reform was published looking at the switch from DLA to PIPs ...
After his rather ill judged tweets around the Olympic opening ceremony, Aidan Burley has not received any comfort from his leader: More PM on Burley: "I think what he said was completely wrong, an idiotic thing to say." — Paul ... Continue reading →
FROM: Edelbertha Spengler, Chief Executive TO: Kenneth Spotlessnob, Director of Transformational Excellence and Strategic Vision Ken: Can you update me on progress with the Odanglesex Craft Olympiad? Cllr Waynflete was asking. Today, please. Ed. FROM: Kenneth Spotlessnob To: Hamish Carpenter, Transformational Excellence Manager Continuing down Memory Lane (one-way street and close) with old adventures from Odanglesex: here the second part on the Packages of Work. Hamish: You'll see from the above we need to update Ed on the Odanglesex Craft Olympiad. Please draft to me by 2:30. Kenneth. FROM: Hamish Carpenter, Transformational Excellence Manager TO: Kenneth Spotlessnob, Director of Transformational ...
The second of our 15 minutes with Christ services is at 6 pm today, at St George's Church, High Street, Belfast.
Depending on your age, you would know Geoffrey Hughes as the dodgy scouse Jack the lad Twiggy in the Royle family, stripping the wall paper with Jim as they danced to Mambo number 5 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuCkT9Ha5hU Or Onslow from Keeping Up Appearances or Scouse Binman and former ... Continue reading →
Cornwall Council's cabinet today took irrevocable steps towards the privatisation of key frontline services including libraries and one stop shops. The decision was taken despite the Cabinet member in charge of large parts of the programme complaining that he had not been properly kept in the loop. The debate was on the idea of issuing an invitation to tender (ITT) to form a new joint venture with a private company to both deliver existing services and to find new business and create new jobs in Cornwall. Once the ITT has been issued, the process can't be stopped unless neither bidder ...
Does a political party's website tell you anything about what they believe?
Mon 30th
13:29
An apology to mr peter miles of east northdown house and mr andrew miles of the coach house northdow...
On the 23rd June 2009 to date, and 2nd February 2010 to date, Bignews Margate published two items referring to the Coach House in Northdown Park. Readers will be aware that following recent defamatory comments being submitted by anonymous bloggers, these two posts have now been removed from BigNews Margate site. Mr Peter Miles has drawn to my attention matters relating to these two items that shed light on the complex issues involved. I would therefore like to apologise unreservedly to both Mr Peter Miles and his brother Mr Andrew Miles for any implication that they or others may have ...
Mon 30th
13:23
Opinion: Stop the national carpathon - we should be proud to offer free seats to service personnel, ...
"Locog calls in the army (again)" goes the headline of the Guardian report saying that Olympics seats left empty by the "Olympic family" are being offered to the military and, potentially, to local school children. So yet another cock-up and we fall back on drafting in the army, goes the story. I take the opposite view. After bringing in our boys and girls in the armed services to fill the breach left by G4S, it is only right that they get some freebies in the form of invitations to watch sports they like. This is not "drafting in", it's inviting ...
Now as I start upon my chosen way, In all I do, my thoughts, my work, my play, Grant as I promise, Courage new for me To be the best, the best that I can be. Help me to keep my Honour shining bright, May I be Loyal in the hardest fight Let me be ...
Picked this up at a bookshop in Broadstairs recommended by drasecretcampus; a TV annual featuring various sfnal kids' TV shows of the early 70s, including Joe 90, Thunderbirds , UFO, a couple I hadn't heard of (Countdown and The Secret Service) and of course Dr Who [sic]. Who fans are well served with a Pertwee cartoon strip whose storyline is surprisingly close to Seeds of Doom, and also two pages reporting from Aldbourne on the filming of The Dæmons (will scan and post these in due course). There are also two cartoon stories about Dastardly and Muttley - I had ...
Sutton businesses gave a resounding thumbs up to the "Successful Sutton" BID proposal on Thursday last week (27 July). There was a 40% turnout with 189 businesses taking part in the vote and 127 voting in favour. I am delighted that Sutton town centre businesses have embraced the BID. By pulling together we can achieve the improvements we all want to see and ensure that Sutton town centre continues to be the thriving, prosperous centre of the community. Forward-thinking businesses shared the vision of a busier, cleaner, greener and more prosperous town centre - and now the real work of ...
Campaigners protest at Russian Consulate in Edinburgh. Photo: Shabnum Mustapha I was up early on Saturday morning to join an Amnesty Scotland protest outside the Russian Consulate in Edinburgh. The event was to mark 500 days since the start of the uprisings in Syria which have seen so many lives brutally taken. There as a mix of particpants, with the youngest at just 10 months, to symbolise the 24 lives needlessly lost every day. It goes without saying that little children like Zain here should be happily toddling around, not being indiscriminately murdered by a horrible regime. What do we ...
Today's Independent reports: [IMG: Conservative Party logo] Three-quarters of local Conservative associations are losing activists as the party suffers a recruitment crisis which has seen membership halve since David Cameron became leader. The latest estimates put Conservative membership at between 130,000 and 170,000, compared with almost 300,000 shortly after Mr Cameron succeeded Michael Howard... Labour's membership now stands at 187,000, a rise of 31,000 since Ed Miliband succeeded Gordon Brown, but still half the level of Tony Blair's early days as leader. Liberal Democrat membership is around 60,000, a fall of about 5,000 since the last general election, but about ...
Another week has passed and news has reached me of another community hall in Northern Ireland being targeted and burnt. Fortunately, in this case, it seems that it has not been gutted. But a lot of damage has been done. The hall in question is a Masonic hall in Lisburn. A fuller report can ...
"we can take you to Aiden Burley, live via webcam from his home in Cannock Chase." said the BBC News presenter, a beaming smile on her face. "Hello there!" grimaced Aiden Burley MP, an uneasy grin on his gaunt face. "So Mr Burley!" bubbled the presenter "You were watching the ceremony, what did you think of it?" "Well to be honest, I thought that it was a load of leftie multicultural crap. Bring back Red Arrows, Shakespeare and the Stones!" he exclaimed, his lips curling into a cruel snarl. "Really? Well it's a surprise to hear you say that, as ...
The reaction in the US to Mitt Romney's gaffes in London has been widespread and damning. Perhaps, the most emblematic media condemnation of Romney is a Newsweek cover story which asks if Romney is a wimp: ROMNEY: THE WIMP FACTOR – IS HE JUST TOO INSECURE TO BE PRESIDENT – by Michael Tomasky It should be the easiest thing in the world for a presidential nominee: a trip to England. The mother country, the shared tongue, our firmest ally. And it should have been easiest of all last week, happening as it did on the eve of the Olympics. Just ...
Prime Minister Boris and other things that never happened (edited by Duncan Brack and Iain Dale) is about to come out in paperback edition and I have a copy to give away as a prize. It's simple enough: sign up to get my monthly email newsletter before the end of Tuesday and I'll put your name in the hat, with the lucky winner getting a brand new copy. My monthly newsletter about the Liberal Democrats provides a convenient summary of the best in news and analysis about the Liberal Democrats. I scour hundreds of blogs and dozens of media outlets ...
Scot goes Pop has gone all outraged at the controversy over Scots athletes not singing God Save the Queen before their matches. He quotes former javelin gold medallist Fatima Whitbread as saying that people have to feel British if they are competing under a British flag. My message to both sides of that particular argument is that they need to get over themselves. If Kim Little and other Scots and Welsh athletes had been sniggering or crossing their fingers or showing disrespect as God Save the Queen was being played, they would be fair game to have a go at. ...
NYT: Crash of the Bumblebee Krugman is pessimistic. (tags: euro ) Koch-funded climate change skeptic reverses course - latimes.com Heh. (tags: climatechange ) The Birth of the Internet From Two Present at Creation — Letters to the Editor - WSJ.com The role of the state. (tags: internet history ) The lessons Doctor Who is teaching my ASD kid With thanks to @Paul_Cornell. (tags: autism doctorwho )
I am an enthusiastic supporter of electoral and constitutional reform in this country. I have been arguing for years that the First Past the Post system for the Commons is hopelessly out of date and unfair and that there is no place in our constitution for an unelected second chamber. I was delighted when the coalition agreement included action on the latter and heartened by Nick Clegg's various comments in the early days of this government that made it clear he was throwing his full weight as Deputy PM behind it. But that was then. Now we are in a ...
A common request we get as councillors is for a speed camera on a particular road. Residents often argue – not unreasonably – that speed cameras will slow down the traffic and the money it costs to put the camera in will be more than made up from the fines. We thought it was a good case, so we've investigated further to let you know when speed cameras can go in. First, the cost. A speed camera (much to our surprise) actually costs between £50,000 and £100,000 to put in and run. That's a lot of money. Not only that, ...
Mon 30th
09:56
Best. Bond girl. Ever. Or, What I Thought of the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games
In case anyone was wondering, I bloody loved it. From Isembard Kingdom Brannagh spouting the Tempest and chewing on a stogie to Paul McCartney going off key like we knew he would, and it not really mattering, I loved it. Highlights for me included:The inflatable pig over Battersea power station London Calling seamlessly blending into the Pomp and Circumstance march Brannagh's sideburns, and him joyously doing The Actor's Stance from Blackadder SuffragISTS! THANK YOU DANNY BOYLE! The Windrush, and the Jarrow marchers The fact that there were several people in wheelchairs in several of the segments, and they were just ...
Two days into the Olympics and I'm loving it as much if not more than usual. Saturday was a really busy day for me - a demo, a meeting and an underage driving lesson for Anna - so I only managed to settle down for the swimming finals in the evening. Yesterday, however, was a veritable cornucopia of sport. Along with the normal F1 (and the less said about the winner of that race the better), I watched Lizzie Armitstead win a thrilling silver in the pouring rain in the women's cycling road race. Then there was dressage. There is ...
This blog reported earlier this year the strange goings on over the forced resignation from the Lib Dems of Canbury Cllr Tim Dennen. It has now emerged - according to this report from local newspaper the Surrey Comet - that Dennen is being investigated for benefit fraud. A crime for which, if convicted, would almost certainly see him being thrown off the council. The report also makes clear that Kingston's Tory councillors knew full well what these 'personal reasons' for his resignation were. Yet it didn't stop them voting Cllr Dennen into the post of Neighbourhood chair - with an ...
Nobody expects an event as vast and as sophisticated as the Olympics to go to plan all the time. Inevitably there are going to be some mistakes and disasters. In the spirit of the games though we work through them and enjoy the sport. Still, I did do a double take when I saw this headline in yesterday's Independent. It seems that Olympic officials are blaming Twitter for a series of computer glitches that led to shambolic television coverage of the men's road race on Saturday. The paper says that BBC presenters struggled to work out who was leading the ...
There's a significant pothole at the south end of Paton's Lane - see right - that residents have brought to my attention. I have brought this to the attention of the City Council's Roads Maintenance Partnership requesting repairs.
Antony Hook said, "I have been delighted to canvass for Don Broadbent who is fighting hard to retain a Liberal Democrat seat representing Polegate on Wealden District Council in East Sussex. This ward is in Norman Baker's consituency." "Don is an excellent candidate and many of the people I canvassed are enthusiastic about voting for ...
Antony Hook, in his capactity as Vice Chair of the Liberal Democrat European Group, announced today that Rebecca Taylor, who became Liberal Democrat MEP for Yorkshire in March will speak at one of LDEG's events at the party conference. Rebecca Taylor will speak at the event "Britain's Place in Europe; Europe's Place in the World" on Tuesday ...
