As promised the Royal Mail are issue stamps and commemorative First Day Covers for any British Olympian who wins gold at London 2012. 90 Royal Mail vehicles are heading off tonight to over 500 post offices so that the stamps will be on sale by lunchtime tomorrow. Or you can order a First Day Cover stamped with the address of the Olympic Stadium, with a date of issue the day after any win. So here are the stamps to honour Helen Glover and Heather Stanning and Bradley Wiggins cAlso in Chorley, Bradley Wiggins home town, Lossiemouth for Heather Stanning and ...
Calls for a plastic bag tax for England have reappeared in the news. The latest statistics show a sharp increase in plastic bag usage over the last year in England, but a drop in usage in Wales where a tax was introduced in October last year. So calls for a tax in England have returned. The Government's rejection of a plastic bag tax in England was widely report back in June. There appears to have been a bid to get a tax included in the budget and then again in the Queen's speech. But pressure from Caroline Spelman to move ...
News just coming in that a 30-year-old cyclist was killed in Newham near the velodrome, hockey stadia and paralympic tennis arena on the edge of the Olympic Park. He was run over by a media bus and vehicles are currently not leaving the Media transport Mall's multi-storey car park. It is not clear yet whether the cyclist was attending events, a volunteer, a passing member of the public or even an athlete. But sadly any death is such a circumstance is unfortunate. No doubt more details will become clear once the next of kin have been informed. My thoughts are ...
It's almost as if Thanet council are oblivious of economic realities, not so long ago, Thanet council were sending out press releases about Council Tax benefit, it's the intention of government to start to rein in welfare benefits and concentrate on those in actual need. Benefits are being safeguarded for pensioners, obviously for Labour this issue is important to them since they represent in this order, public sector workers, benefits claimants, big business and at the bottom of the heap, us working people. Recently local Labour boss Cllr. Clive Hart, thought it essential that local people should be aware of ...
You know the sort of thing - one mouse, two mice; one man, two men; one house, two hice. Someone, American I think, maintained the plural of hippopotamus should be hippopotamice. I have discoverd some others: One swan, two swine; One Beagle, two Biggles; One lass, two lice; One loaf, two life; One salmon, two salmen; One spat, two spit; One shot, two ****. I will gratefully receive other examples.
If it had happened to any other politician we would be laughing at him. It is a mark of Boris Johnson's unique political qualities that instead we are laughing with him. But will those qualities ever take him to the leadership of the Conservative Party? Benedict Brogan sounds like a Boris believer, but tells us that: Westminster is divided between those who now believe him to be unstoppable, and those who can't stop laughing at the idea that he is being taken seriously as an alternative prime minister.Steve Richards says: There is only one Tory leadership contest Boris could win ...
Including latest crime level news and a cannabis farm on Silverdale Road. Newsletter August 2012
In the men's 77kg weightlifting there was all sorts of drama at the end of the first snatch phase. First of all Sa Jaehyouk (KOR) attempting 162kg dislocated his right elbow. The two Chinese Lu Haojie and Lu Xiaojun had yet to lift. Lu Haojie the younger man came out first to lift 170kg, only 2 kg less than the Olympic record. Lu Xiaojun the official World Record holder of 174kg followed easily too. Then they lifted to 175kg which Lu Haojie had lifted in the Chinese championships but was not a confirmed as a World record holder. He failed ...
Cllr Nick Hollinghurst at County Hall Herts County Council have published an Annual Report for last year, but opposition Liberal Democrat councillors have attacked it as "one-sided" and "biased," only reporting good news and omitting the bad. It is supposed to be impartial. Resources spokesman Cllr Malcolm Cowan (Handside and Peartree) said 'We have pointed out several errors and the failure to fully report all relevant news about the county council. But the ruling Conservatives have decided instead to ignore our comments and issue a "rose - tinted" and one-sided report at the taxpayers' expense. It is close to being ...
troll: One who posts a deliberately provocative message to a newsgroup or message board with the intention of causing maximum disruption and argument This is a bit of ramble but hey ho... Don't feed the trolls. Those of us who have been online for a fairly long time cannot have failed to have encountered that oft chanted mantra on a forum or, dare I out my age, newsgroup. It has served us well for all these years. Trolls, like dirty old men and fangirls, are an internet hazard. They've been a part of the internet ever since it entered it's ...
Liberal Democrat peer and campaigning guru Chris Rennard went on Radio 4 yesterday to respond to the Earl of Glasgow saying that we should back down on Lords reform. Lord Rennard said that there have been plans for an elected Lords were not Nick Clegg's alone and that there had been efforts to reform the upper House for 50 years before Nick Clegg was born. He took a mild swipe at his Liberal Democrat colleague Lord Steel when asked about the latter's plans to limit the reforms to allowing voluntary retirement and sacking those peers who don't attend. Those things, ...
Venerable Fulton J. Sheen touched the lives of millions worldwide with his warmth, wisdom and humour. A master communicator, he had the great gift of preaching and teaching the Gospel in a way easy to understand. He is mostly remembered for having been one of the first great television evangelists. However, he also wrote many ...
An update on controversial Lewisham Labour councillor Stephen Padmore – a local newspaper is now calling on him to resign: Councillor Stephen Padmore turned up to sign his name at a planning meeting in June – the first he had attended in six months – before quitting the room without explanation. It's alleged he only made the fleeting appearance to dodge a council rule which sacks members who do not show their faces for six months. The Lewisham Council meeting was initially put on hold as people assumed he had gone to the loo but committee members later collapsed into ...
With grateful thanks to...
Wiggo and Froome receiving their medals at Hampton Court On the last day of the torch relay the flame took a visit to the famous maze at Hampton Court Palace. Today the Palace acquired by Henry VIII saw the return of the King, or at least the Maillot Jaune from France, Le Tour that is. Out through roads and town that I have cycled along in my time living in that part of the world was the women's and then the men's Time Trials. All the talk before the start of the men's was about how Brits Chris Froome and ...
The Scottish Government, understandably enough, has decided to showcase Scotland to the representatives of business and government from all over the world who are currently visiting London for the Olympics. Showing Scotland off is never a bad thing, especially when we are hosting the Commonwealth Games in 2 years' time. They have, bizarrely, blown £400,000 on hiring the Army and Navy Club in Pall Mall and renaming it Scotland House. There, according to First Minister Alex Salmond, visitors can see:what a great place Scotland is to have a holiday or do business in, and what wonderful food and drink and ...
The Scottish Government, understandably enough, has decided to showcase Scotland to the representatives of business and government from all over the world who are currently visiting London for the Olympics. Showing Scotland off is never a bad thing, especially when we are hosting the Commonwealth Games in 2 years' time. They have, bizarrely, blown £400,000 on hiring the Army and Navy Club in Pall Mall and renaming it Scotland House. There, according to First Minister Alex Salmond, visitors can see: what a great place Scotland is to have a holiday or do business in, and what wonderful food and drink ...
The Mayor of London stuck on a zipline shouting get me a ladder or a rope.
Looking through some of YouGov's recent poll results (as you do on a summer's evening during the Olympics), a trio of responses struck me as, well, slightly bizarre. See what you think... Lib Dem voters LEAST LIKELY to think Britain is best at cricket, MOST LIKELY to think we're best at cycling This may simply be a reflection that 'Britain' does not play cricket. Or perhaps just a subjective viewpoint: after all, England is currently ranked the best test cricket team in the world (though fourth in one-day internationals); while the poll took place towards the closing stages of the ...
The fourth of our 15 minutes with Christ services is at 6 pm today, at St George's Church, High Street, Belfast.
Today, returning to blogging after a brief interval while I settle into my new job, I'd like to be a bit naughty and compare Chris's two most recent posts, on Corporate Crime and the Rightness of Romney. The first concerns the role of incentives in law-breaking amongst our corporate friends, making the clear point that ...
***Breaking News*** The black card threatened but not used in one of the matches The four pairs accused yesterday of not trying to win to avoid a tougher road to the Semi finals have all been kicked out of the Olympic women's doubles. South Korean pairs Ha Jung-Eun and Kim Min-Jung (the 3rd seeds) and Jung Kyung-eun and Kim Ha-na, Indonesian pair Meiliana Juahari and Greysia Polii and the top seeded Chinese pair Yu Yang and Wang Xiaoli have all been disqualified. This will result in some interesting redrawing of the knock out matches as all those involved had qualified. ...
As you might imagine, The New York Times Book Review is well a regarded and respected publication, trading on the established New York Times brand. They have released a new cover, depicting eight books on the cover. Two of the ... Continue reading →
I've previously blogged about my love of Desert Island Discs, Radio 4's long running interview programme in which guests choose eight tracks they would choose to have with them if they were stranded on a desert island. Guests are normally people who have achieved greatness or recognition in their field and are not always public figures or celebrities. As such, it can be a fascinating window on the lives of others - and what drives and motivates our top scientists, academics, artists, politicians and authors (for example). Music choices are most often chosen to remind guests of people in their ...
Merseyrail is looking to put a toilet into the station at Cressington and to do a bit of work on the pavement immediately outside the building. The details aren't all published yet but when they are you'll be able to find them with the planning application here
A report published yesterday states that 8 billion single use plastic bags were used in England last year, up 5% on last year. In the same time period, there had been significant reductions in Wales, where ... Continue reading →
Never in the history of Olympic rowing had a female GB crew won gold.... ....until today. Heather Stanning and Helen Glover were picked out from the Olympic Giants scheme to be potential Olympians for London 2012. Four years ago they had not been anywhere near a boat. Two years ago they were considered to be the reserves for the GB team, but someone decided to put them out in a pair to see how they fared. They took World Silver and did so again in 2011. Andy Murray's pic from the men's locker room at Wimbledon But this morning they ...
There were tears, laughter and wide-eyed wonderment at Liberal Democrat Voice Towers on Friday night as we marvelled at Danny Boyle's innovative Olympic opening ceremony. While some of us will remember Boyle as the guy who persuaded the Queen to "jump" out of a helicopter, our own Stephen Tall has looked a little deeper. Over at CentreForum's blog, he's awarded Danny Boyle the accolade of Liberal Hero of the Week. While Labour supporting Boyle may smart at this, Stephen talks about what the Ceremony conveyed to him: First, the human potentiality which has formed Britain, made her what she is ...
Filed under: Blogging
Tony Davis checking out the fast-moving traffic As well as the pedestrian accidents on Rodford Way, there's another cluster of accidents on the eastbound carriageway near Kelston Close and Witcombe that each involve only a single vehicle. For example, recently a car overturned above the Abbotswood subway. Focus councillors have requested South Glos traffic engineers to investigate this piece of road, and Yate Safer Stronger Community Group has asked for a flashing speed sign to warn motorists and gather speed data.
All changes from earlier post are in red. Remember the rules. Names are put against position if 1. I read that the incumbent is staying in post 2. I read a person is tipped to get that job 3. No name against a position means I've not heard the incumbent is staying nor any other name been mentioned It's all go isn't it? Prime Minister David Cameron Deputy PM Nick Clegg Chancellor of the Exchequer George OsborneVince CableWilliam HagueJohn RedwoodPhilip HammondMichael GoveTheresa May Foreign Secretary William HagueGeorge Osborne Home Secretary Theresa MayMichael GoveChris Grayling Education Michael GoveLiz Truss Health Andrew ...
Liberal Democrat Secretary of State for Scotland Michael Moore writes a weekly column for newspapers in his Borders constituency. Here's the latest edition. Surgeries Last week I completed my second week of summer advice surgeries where I visited many more towns and villages in the Borders and discussed a huge range of issues affecting individuals and communities. These surgeries are a highlight of my work as Borders MP and it has been great to meet with so many people over the last two weeks. Border Union Show Last week I attended the 199th Border Union Show in Kelso and spent ...
Don't normally do these but...away you go:
After an entertaining discussion at BarCamp Berkshire about video games, I decided to treat myself to an Xbox 360. After several happy years with a Nintendo Wii, I was keen to see what the new state of the art was. I picked the current top pick console and, I must say, while the games are great the console is somewhat of a disappointment. I picked the limited edition Xbox 360 320GB Star Wars Kinect Console with Kinect Star Wars – Limited Edition (Xbox 360) . Yay! Star Wars! HardwareIt comes with a 320GB hard disk, a Kinect, optical audio, HDMI ...
On Monday two brilliant documentaries were aired - one by Dispatches and one by Panorama - which I think should be compulsory watching for anyone who's ever expressed any kind of opinion about disability benefits or who has read a tabloid headline about scroungers. Both documentaries looked at the controversial Work Capability Assessment (WCA) which determine whether sick and disabled people are entitled to receive benefits or not. Panorama was a broad investigation while Dispatches, on the other hand, managed to find out that WCA medical assessors are threatened with having their work reviewed if they declare more than 14% ...
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 ...
It's all still ongoing, but I wanted to set these down before I forget them. First, the Olympics Live red button coverage has been great. Just getting to flick through and watch everything that's going on live, without someone deciding what we should be watching is a whole new way to watch sport. So why not continue this after the Olympics? Every weekend, there's lots of sport going on across the country – and further afield – so why not make the live coverage (there doesn't have to be commentary) available? They could even rebrand the multiple feeds as a ...
I could have chosen In Our Lifetime by my beloved Texas, but I've opted instead for Semisonic whom I rather liked. Whilst not quite One Hit Wonders - they had 4 top forty hits including this, their first and biggest song - they did kind of disappear with little trace. Here's Secret Smile: Enjoy! Andrew
From the City Council: Dundee City Council proposes to make an Order under Section 14(1) of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 for the purpose of facilitating service connection works. The Order is expected to be in force for four weeks from 6 August 2012. Its maximum duration in terms of the Act is eighteen months. The effect of the Order is to prohibit temporarily all vehicular traffic in Lower Pleasance from Brewery Lane to Douglas Street. Pedestrian thoroughfare and vehicular access to premises will be maintained where possible. An alternative route will be available via Brewery Lane, Park Street ...
The Independent reports that a government-wide spending review is to be scaled back because Nick Clegg is refusing to commit to billions of pounds of further cuts in the welfare budget. They say that the Deputy Prime Minister is facing a grassroots revolt from Liberal Democrats against signing up to a detailed package of public spending cuts during the two years after the 2015 general election. Activists are threatening to table an emergency motion at the party's autumn conference in an attempt to prevent the leadership supporting a new round of cuts, which they fear would be deeply unpopular. However, ...
A trip to Dublin presents me with an opportunity to visualise another self. I have had two distinct chances which could have led to my moving in Ireland: the first was when I was a callow intern in the Information Technology industry back in the mid 1990s. Thanks to Ireland's burgeoning high tech economy, it ...
"BCN magazine editor Jen Yockney was among the guests at last night's LGBT garden party hosted by David Cameron at 10 Downing Street." reported BiMedia last week. Yes, dear reader, it's true. After about five years of Prime Ministerial Downing Street LGB&T receptions, at last someone finally got invited on behalf of one of the projects that focus on the "B" thread. I've no idea quite how I got on the guest list, but the invite dropped into my BCN email account so I have to conclude it was for my work on Bi Community News as editor for a ...
Last night, Amnesty International in Northern Ireland hosted their annual Belfast Pride Lecture in Belfast's Europa Hotel. The exhibition hall was nearly packed to the gunnels; everyone crowding in to hear Patrick Strudwick's thoughts on "The dangerous world of gay 'cures'". In 2010 journalist Patrick Strudwick published "The Ex-Gay Files: The Bizarre World of ...
This website is taking its traditional summer break. Deckchairs and sunbathers on a sunny Sunday, Brighton beach by David Hawgood Deckchairs and sunbathers on a sunny Sunday, Brighton beach (David Hawgood) / CC BY-SA 2.0
Today is Yorkshire Day and the Yorkshire Ridings Society's annual reading of the Yorkshire Declaration of Integrity will take place at Redcar Town Clock at 11.37 a.m. This year the declaration will be read by Chris Foote-Wood (pictured above). Chris is the former Town Crier of Bishop Auckland and former LibDem candidate for Mayor of Middlesbrough. He is directly descended from two Whitby sea captains related to Captain Cook. The Ridings Society's North Riding Group is donating all proceeds from their sales of white roses (£1 each) to Redcar Lifeboat. Each year since 1997 the North Riding Group has raised ...
