[IMG: Triangle restuarant] A planning application has been submitted to build three floors of flats above part of the Triangle Restaurant on Ferme Park Road by the junction with Stapleton Hall Road. Most of the local landmark restaurant would be demolished, and an extra house added to the end of the terrace, and the restaurant then rebuilt. The Council's planning department say that residents can make comments – supporting or objecting to the application – up to mid September, before they make a decision. You can view the application and comment online. Ed, Katherine and I have already submitted some ...
A couple of months ago Gary Younge wrote in The Guardian highlighting the consequences of online racism. He argued that for some the right to offend has trampled on the basic sense of recognising how it feels to be offended. I ... Continue reading →
The Alliance Party Councillor John Blair merely calling for calm on "all sides" in relation to parades and then the disturbance outside St. Patrick's Church on Donegall Street. He goes on to say: "Following the controversy over the twelfth of July parade past the same area, we must now get agreement from all sides as to what happens in the future. We need engagement and negotiation; nobody wants to see a repeat of this violence again. "There is a lot of tension over this issue, so I would urge everybody to take a mature approach to sort out future parades ...
The book on the Kinks I've been serialising here, Preservation: The Kinks' Music 1964-1974, is now available in paperback, hardback and PDF formats from lulu.com . Versions for ereaders should be up tomorrow when I finish formatting them. For those who don't know what my music books are like, this is a collection of the ...
I've had my final training session. I've shortened my uniform trousers. I've got my final shifts. And I'm ready to go. It's almost two years since I first heard that they were looking for volunteers for the Games. After such a long lead time, the final few days seem to be going past very rapidly. I am so looking forward to finally getting started. So if you are planning to get along to the Paralympics at ExCel do look out for me and say hello. I'm based in different areas throughout the period, so I can't really tell you where ...
A report published in the middle of August by the Waste Resource Action Programme (WRAP) claims that more than half of all bulky waste items taken to household waste and recycling centres (HWRCs) could be re-used. According to the consultancy Resource Futures, who wrote the report, 40% of bulky items collected at the kerbside, such as sofas and televisions, could be re-used. 24% were estimated to be re-usable straight away, rising to 40% if items requiring slight repair were taken into account. Of bulky items taken to an HWRC, 32% were estimated to be re-usable in their current condition, increasing ...
Michael was challenged by a post about pledging to think about what and how we speak after not doing either when discussing an issue with his husband Andrew and friend Pam this evening. Can you sign the pledge as he has?
Don't forget Faith, Pride, and Chat, our informal social evening, is taking place on Friday, 31 August at 7 p.m in St George's Church on High Street. More detail....
As part of his address to the assembled 1,000 members of the Royal Black Institution at Plumbridge, West Tyrone, the Sovereign Grand Master Millar Farr seems to get into a confusion about civil law and religious law. He said: "In God's law there is no provision for same-sex marriage. Holy scripture is quite clear on the subject - marriage is between male and female only. "While man-made laws can be changed, God's law is unchangeable. How politicians can imagine they have the right to create legislation which is contrary to holy scripture is beyond belief."Of course this is not the ...
"There is no new thing under the sun," as the good book says. So here is a post from Transpontine from March in this year. It is an extract from the book Mystery Big Cats by Merrily Harpur, published by the Heart of Albion Press (which appears to have migrated from Market Harborough to Avebury recently): The most famous labour-intensive hunt was for an animal dubbed by the press 'The Shooters Hill Cheetah'. On the 18th July 1963 David Beck, driving through Shooters Hill in south-east London, saw a large animal lying by the side of the road. Assuming it ...
In the last General Election, the Conservatives got 37% of the vote. According to ICM (July 2012), in an election with no warning, the Tories could count on the support of 34% of the voters, other pollsters suggest similar figures. The missing 3% or so have mostly gone to either UKIP or 'not sure's, depending on which question is asked. Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats have lost around 10% of their support and Labour have gained around 10%, almost all of those 10% are the same people. Of those 10% that voted Lib Dem in 2010 but say they wouldn't do ...
Short kids' urban fantasy novel, somewhat sub-Diana Wynne Jones with added toilet humour; the sinister factory in the neighbourhood is responsible for the horrors of modern food, and our heroes destroy it with explosive pee. (Sorry about the spoiler, but if you were going to buy this it was probably for someone else.)
Greater Manchester Police is inviting the public to have their say on how police respond to, report and investigate road traffic collisions. The consultation comes in the wake of an increase in road deaths in the county in the last year and forms part of a national consultation. The review will feed into updating the Road Death Investigation Manual that was last reviewed in 2007. In Greater Manchester road deaths increased by a shocking 42 per cent in 2011 compared to the previous year equating to 75 deaths and led to road safety being prioritised by GMP. Increased enforcement of ...
A short while ago I wrote about the need to protect our local hospitals. For me I see this as four local hospitals: EalingCharing CrossHammersmithCentral MiddlesexAll could be downgraded and the current consultation gives a possible chance to save some of our local hospitals. Councillor Andrew Steed campaigning against hospital downgrades Check out the consultation where you can read "Shaping a healthier future for North West London". You can phone them on 0800 881 5209 and ask for a copy of the consultation document. Their preferred option is to downgrade hospitals to only a "local hospital". That means closing the ...
Go the Daily Mail website and you will find an article laughing at today's furore over the lion that was supposed to be on the loose in Essex. The headline shouts: Here, kitty kitty: Image of 'Essex Lion' that sparked massive police hunt is finally revealed as officers call off the search and admit sightings were probably of a 'large domestic cat'And the article goes on to say: It also emerged that an image believed to show the lion which was widely viewed online was in fact a fake. Essex police warned that 'several doctored photographs are in circulation through ...
The yellow lines for the junction of Bloomfield Drive and Frome Road, but due to an oversight were painted. This is to be corrected imminently.
I am severely unimpressed with Murdo Fraser, Conservative MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife. He's been pretty robust with someone who criticised him on Twitter today, saying: What mindless pathetic individuals you are. Begone trolls.Now, I know that politicians take some pretty heavy duty abuse online. I've had my fair share of it myself and I'm only a mere foot soldier. I've been called all sorts of names. The only time it upsets me is if it comes from somebody I have had some interaction with or have some respect for. Most of the time I completely ignore it. I ...
Well it's only the second Saturday Six and I'm afraid I've already let it slip by a couple of days... I do have half an excuse, though, having spent all Saturday out delivering! That said, I don't have a great excuse for yesterday - I did start blogging but other things just took over... Anyway, here are this week's six: First up, another two Assange related posts; The Blog That Peter Wrote analyses his Evita-like balcony speech whilst David Allen Green bursts some of the myths which supporters of Assange have been keen to perpetrate. Caron has news of the ...
A hands-on guide to using social media websites will be available at your local library from September 2012. Training in popular social media sites Facebook and Twitter will be offered across Hertfordshire's libraries, alongside one-to-one training sessions in basic computing. The new course – called 'Introduction to Social Networking: Facebook and Twitter' – is the latest addition to a menu of taster session courses aimed at people with little or no experience of using a computer. The social media course teaches you how to set up and use a Facebook account safely and securely, including adding friends and sharing photos. ...
TalkTalk have contacted me in regard to this year's TalkTalk Digital Heroes Awards. They are asking me to nominate groups in my constituency for the Awards – a unique competition that recognises and rewards people who are using technology to help their communities. The Digital Heroes Awards, run in partnership with the Daily Mirror and charities Citizens Online and Go ON UK, aim to recognise inspirational people who use technology to benefit their local community. Twelve winners, one from each region of the UK - voted for by the public - will each get £5,000 to enhance their digital projects, ...
Cllr Darren Fower will be popping along this coming Wednesday to the Paston & Gunthorpe Community Centre, Hallfields Lane, Gunthorpe, to show his support for the work done by the local friendship club, who week in, week out, provide a regular social event for local retired residents. Commenting, Darren said: "From what I've heard they have something for everyone at this years event? Personally, I'm looking forward to having a go on the Tombola and guessing the weight of the cake!" Entrance fee: 20p
"At the moment the way that Jersey's public authorities operate is not that dissimilar to Putin's Russia. All meaningful power is in the hands of an oligarchy and they don't like free speech, they don't like any challenge to their hold on power or their status or their hold on authority." Part 2 tomorrow - thanks to voiceforchildren.
In the first comprehensive report it has conducted into the impact of its Quantitative Easing (QE) policies on the UK economy, the Bank of England says that QE has "prevented a deeper recession" but that the policy "benefits the top 5% of households". It is the contention of this article that the central bank is broadly correct on both of those points-which begs the question, why is the Bank of England intent on pursuing the policy in the future? I have previously written that QE has had the effect of preventing a deeper recession by effectively ending the credit crunch, ...
I'm putting the final touches to the Kinks book now, and so I thought I'd upload the cover.With luck the book should be out later today or tomorrow. Incidentally, this book is going to be the test case as to whether I should write any more of these music books. If it sells reasonably well ...
Rochdale Council is consulting on its revised 'Core Strategy', which may be of interest to residents who live near the Rochdale border. Proposals to release up to 55 hectares of green belt land in South Heywood for development have been excluded from an updated draft of Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council's core strategy planning document, as have plans in the original document for a new link road to junction 19 of the M62 to support employment development and stop traffic short-cutting through Heywood. The proposal relating to green belt land in South Heywood has been replaced in the new strategy document ...
Although Mouchel Group plc is in administration they continue to trade and operate existing contracts. This will not affect any refund to which you may be entitled of the penalties issued in respect of the scheme they designed. In any case the money was paid to Herts County Council and it is they who are making the refunds, regardless of what happens to Mouchel. The refunds will be made whether or not you apply for a refund after the expiration of the Mouchel contract – which now has only four weeks to run. However, if you feel you are entitled ...
Cartoon by Martin ShovelFollow @MartinShovel on Twitter and read his blog Creativity Works More about the Richard III dig from the University of Leicester
The internet is truly a wonderful place. It is one of the few places you can really say what you mean and really exercise your freedom of speech, after all I will probably never meet a tenth of the people who read this 'blog and only gauge responses by the meagre comments or by the odd angry tweet. Sometimes a riposte in another local Bloggers site will crop up. Some constructive, which is great, and others not. (I'll come to that tomorrow!) The problem with politics is that it is a highly mobile situation and fluidic, constantly changing and with ...
Why in the name of Cthulhu's seasalt-ridden knackers do the people in charge of Doctor Who keep employing this hack? I just watched the first webisode of Pond Life, which is the BBC's attempt to get us Who fans into even more of a froth of excitement about the new series than we already are. The problem is, they've let Chibnall write it. So, it's stuffed full of stuff that's been done before, Sontarans, Fireballs, DJ Doctor, yadda yadda yadda. And then there's one original idea. And because this is Chibnall, we know what that original idea is going to ...
4Rutland - a group set up by three Independent councillors - now has a website: 4Rutland was formed as a response to concerns about risks posed by local Councillors who may put party political allegiance before the needs of people who live and work in Rutland. There is a concern that Full Council Meetings on major issues are brief, raising suspicions that decisions may be pre-determined. The Scrutiny process is minimal. Well qualified Councillors are side-lined, with little or no influence in debates that could be about spending £Millions of public money. With such a small Council this cannot be ...
This weekend Scotland lost one of its greatest liberal figures. Donald Gorrie, Mr Edinburgh, passed away on Friday. Sadly, I never knew him that well, although, of course, I admired from afar his work on issues like sectarianism, alcohol, third party right of appeal in planning decisions and showing how STV would work in the Scottish Parliament. He was a good role model of how to behave when you're in a coalition you're not really happy with. He was never destructive, but he spoke up when he wasn't happy and spent his time developing ideas. He had that winning combination ...
Issan Ghazni, Chair of Nottingham City Liberal Democrats took a small team of activists across to Lincolnshire this weekend to campaign for Charles Shaw in the County Council by-election. Voters will be going to the polls on September 6 to ... Continue reading →
Last week I approached the thought of attending the Thanet council cabinet meeting with some trepidation, and then thought stuff it,who are these people, as I considered the poor response to my complaint to the council over harassment at the last one I attended from overzealous staff inadequately trained to deal with the public, no surprising given the attitude of senior council officers to the public. Anyway ignoring the preceding sour grapes, the meeting itself started with a lengthy, lecture from Cllr Clive Hart, about the use of mobile phones, unnecessary in my opinion, a request not to disrupt the ...
There's been plenty of reshuffle chit-chat overt the past few weeks, much of it speculative. However, the Sunday papers appears to included some pretty well-sourced information which went beyond the usual space-filling 'who knows?', and appears to suggest good news for both Jo Swinson and David Laws — both of whom enjoyed strong support in our recent survey of members' preferred back-bencher promotions. First, The Observer reported that David Cameron's reshuffle will bring whips back to the fore, with an enhanced whips office incorporating both old-handers and young-turks to help the Tory leader re-assert a grip on his increasingly assertive ...
Truth Is Stranger Than Fiction | kglobal Georgian politics: a US consultant writes. (tags: georgia ) steve_mollmann: A Man, a Can, a Microwave That's one modestly-sized microwave for man... (tags: space ) wwhyte: Interesting Links for 27-08-2012 A roundup of links about Lance Armstrong and doping. (tags: sport )
Given all the speculation about a cabinet reshuffle I thought it's time to re-enter the debate. Here's a reminder of my suggestions from January last year... Cabinet reshuffle.
The Daily Mail scores a rare win with: Welsh tourist 'set fire to French man wrapped in toilet paper dressed as an Egyptian mummy'
"Until same sex marriage is permitted it is impossible to claim gay and straight couples are treated equally"
I got it wrong about Mary Portas previously Now she's opened up a Pop Up Shop in Richmond, right opposite the station. It looks fantastic. And while not everyone agrees with her plans to revitalise high streets, at least plans like 'Love Liskeard' are having a real go at making a difference. She seems to be genuinely passionate, energetic and trying to achieve more than just hot air. So sorry again Mary. I take my hat off to you.
LibDemVoice's surveys of party members signed-up to our discussion forum have been running for over three years now. (I posted yesterday the final set of figures from our most recent poll.) Our surveys are a way of testing members' views on a variety of hot topics. And as they've been running throughout the first two years of the Coalition they're also an interesting record of changing views on how the Coalition is regarded within the party. If you would like to take part in the LibDemVoice surveys, there are simply two steps you need to follow: 1) Be a current ...
The Independent has a fascinating insight into the war that is being waged within Labour's shadow cabinet between the party's Leader and Shadow Chancellor. They say that relations between Ed Miliband and Ed Balls have become increasingly strained in recent months with the two men clashing over policy and presentation. They quote insiders who claim that Mr Miliband is frustrated by the reluctance of Mr Balls to take a harder line on Britain's banking sector and is demanding that he be consulted on all policy statements. At the same time, allies of Mr Balls have expressed frustration at Mr Miliband's ...
So far, so sadly predictable these days: Police have arrested a m22 from Southend following tweets to carltoncole1. Investigation ongoing — Essex Police (@EssexPoliceUK) August 26, 2012 One police force passing on a complaint from the public to another police force via Twitter? All rather sensible, as it worked quickly and effectively, yet also an indication of how quickly the police's approach to Twitter has changed in the last couple of years.
The normal phrase is "its the economy stupid". However, unless a country is an energy exporter in a large way in fact "its energy prices stupid". I have obtained figures from the Library to calculate the marginal rate at which an increase in the price of energy reduces economic activity. I did speak about this in the house earlier this year. However, I haven't yet found the time to do the
They're back! The very popular Heritage Open Days will be over a 4 day period from Thursday 6th September. Historic buildings, and grounds, will be open for various days over the period. I know that this is a national initiative, but I'll be visiting buildings in the local (Blyth and its environs, ) buildings that the public would not normally have access to. Once I get to know the timetable ( as not every building is open for all of the four days ) I'll let you know
The current speculation about a cabinet reshuffle demonstrates one of the major weaknesses of British politics: we are far more interested in personalities, who is going "up" and who is going "down," than we are in policies. However, just to indulge that proclivity for a few sentences, I'm not too keen on the expected return of David Laws to the heights. He is after all one of the Liberal Democrat coalition negotiators who failed to spot that a concession to abstain on a rise in student fees was not sufficient when we had "pledged", oh so publicly, to vote against ...
This Story about Samsung shares dropping following a patent case highlights some interesting questions. I haven't studied the details of the cases around the world, but superficially it appears that the US Courts have found for Apple and non-US courts have found for Samsung. If this is true then in itself it raises questions about the differential effect of the rule of law in different
I have today backed a campaign launched by Edinburgh West Liberal Democrat MP Mike Crockart and "The Sunday Post" called "No 2 Nuisance Calls". It is estimated that there are around 50 nuisance sales calls made on average each year to every person in Scotland- some quarter of a billion in total. Mike's campaign is calling for government action to increase regulators' powers to have these nuisance calls stopped. I am strongly backing this campaign. So many constituents in the West End tell me that they are fed up with nuisance marketing calls and its about time government took action ...
College Lake is just over the border in Buckinghamshire. It is a old chalk pit, formerly owned by Castle Cement. This was used for the manufacture of cement which used to be produced nearby in a huge cement kiln – long since gone. Now partially flooded it has become the College Lake Nature Reserve, cared for by the Berks, Buck and Oxon Wildlife Trust (BBOWT) and a small army of dedicated volunteers. With a café, visitor centre, ample parking, an activity hall and nearly a dozen carefully positioned hides it is well worth visiting. Meadows, pasture, grassland, woodland and wetlands ...
