Despite all the wet weather over the last few months the play equipment at Kingsmead has been successfully installed and the grass is managing to grow back. There are some horribly squelchy patches but nothing that a few days of wind and sun won't solve. The equipment is obviously very attractive because despite the safety fencing being erected round some of it still to let the grass recover
On holiday this week I met and talked with an American veteran of the Vietnam War for the first time in my life. He was just a bit older than me, a very likeable and patriotic man. The brief discussion of Vietnam was both interesting and disturbing as he shared his view that "we achieved nothing", and told of talking at the time with a Vietnamese woman who did laundry for the US Army and was also married to a soldier in the South Vietnamese Army. He had asked her which side she wanted to win, the US and its ...
"Get your things together, twins," Peter said as she opened her bag and stuffed her school hat in it. "We're nearly there." The train slowed down. High on their left they saw the lighted windows of the signal-box. Over the level crossing and then a flickering oil-lamp showed them - as if they didn't know - that the name was Onnybrook. They jumped out into six inches of snow and with their luggage round htem and waved to the guard as he swung on to the step of his van and called "Good night." Then Dickie sniffed the cold air ...
Every four years I get an uptick of interest in my web page on facial hair and US presidential elections. There have been a total of only five American presidents with beards, starting with Abraham Lincoln and continuing through the rest of the nineteenth century. I offer a couple of trivia questions about them. Quick trivia question #1: Of the five bearded presidents, how many were Democrats and how many were Republicans? Answer: All five were Republicans. The Democrats have never even had a candidate with a decent beard, and of their presidents only Cleveland even went as far as ...
Earlier this evening, I attended the latest West End Community Council meeting. Well-attended, there was a very informative presentation by the City Council's Director of Environment on the role and challenges facing his department. There was also a useful update by PC Frank Sturrock on policing issues which included a reminder about avoiding house break-ins and keeping an eye on your nearby community to avoid break-ins at neighbouring properties. I was given the real pleasure tonight of making the presentation to Lydia Dorward, a stalwart of the Community Council throughout the 12 years I have attended West End Community Council ...
08 January 2013Matthew Reed, Chief Executive of The Children's Society, said:'This bill will punish millions of children and families already struggling to make ends meet. 'Two-thirds of families affected - over six million - have children. As a result of today's move, life will be harder for families from all walks of life, including 300,000 nurses and midwives, 150,000 primary school teachers and 40,000 members of the armed forces. 'Families already struggling to provide their children with food or a winter coat, or heat their homes are being pushed closer to the brink. 'Child poverty blights lives and is a ...
Today, UKIP allegedly made the decision to remove Olly Neville, Chair of Young Independence, from his position due to his vocal support in favour of equal marriage. I can confirm I have been removed as Chairman of Young Independence on policy issues the Chairman discussed with me http://t.co/nACTBac0— Olly Neville (@OllyNeville) January 08, 2013 NEC have decided ...
It's true that I churned out Trixie Seven in a couple of hours, plus the time it took to edit after beta, but it's still the case that I keep talking about that tiny little fic every opportunity I get. Because I put a lot of my personal knowledge and experience into it, and I've had a few conversations here and there. So in one place: Some things about Trixie Seven or: Debi has too much to say about fanfic. There are three things paleontologists get sick of hearing from people about their job: "hypothetically, could we clone dinosaurs from ...
Today, UKIP allegedly made the decision to remove Olly Neville, Chair of Young Independence, from his position due to his vocal support in favour of equal marriage. I can confirm I have been removed as Chairman of Young Independence on policy issues the Chairman discussed with me http://t.co/nACTBac0— Olly Neville (@OllyNeville) January 08, 2013 NEC have decided ...
As I mentioned today: I'm interviewing @timfarronfor @adlibmag abt LibDem election prospects on Wed – what questions should I ask? — Stephen Tall (@stephentall) January 8, 2013 What questions do you have for the party president on the party's campaigning in the lead-up to 2015? Let me know, either below or via Twitter and I'll try and make sure we cover it... * Stephen Tall is Co-Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice, a Research Associate for the liberal think-tank CentreForum, and also writes at his own site, The Collected Stephen Tall.
Tue 8th
21:27
Labour are targeting a measly 16 Lib Dem seats in 2015 but keep saying the Lib Dems are dead. Someth...
Back in the day I went to school. 190 days a year. Lots of boring lessons. The odd interesting one as well. One lesson I did was maths. I was actually pretty good at it. Always in the top set and without sounding big headed always at the top of the top set. Maths wise I was always smart and basic number was my forte. I just nailed it. So when I read today that Labour are targeting 106 seats for gains in 2015 but only 16 of them were Lib Dem I was a bit perplexed. Now you see ...
Today, Matthew Kershaw, the Trust Special Administrator appointed to sort out the insolve South London Healthcare Trust published his final report. Amongst many other recommends, he proposes the 'coming together' of Lewisham Healthcare with Greenwich Healthcare, and the downgrading of University Hospital Lewisham's maternity and A&E units. These proposals offer little change from the interim [...] ↓ Read the rest of this entry...
The 'Gotcha' style of questioning favoured by John Humphrys damages democracy, argues Robert Sharp on Liberal Conspiracy. Dr Alun Wyburn-Powell brings psychotherapy to bear on relations between the parties: "Viewed through the prism of Transactional Analysis, it is no surprise that the LibDem-Labour coalition negotiations failed, but the Conservatives and the LibDems managed to strike a business-like agreement." Germany offers the best model for the successful adoption of renewable energy, argues Osha Gray Davidson in an interview with AlterNet. "As a child in Bristol in the 1970s, apart from school, mealtimes and the odd bit of telly (mostly Blue Peter!) ...
Difficult times for the Coalition and the Lib Dems today with the second reading of the Welfare Up-Rating Bill. As widely predicted Sarah Teather voted against the Government with 5 other Lib Dems. Apologies for the length of the following from Hansard, but her speech to the House makes critical points worth repeating: "People who come to ...
A local film-maker, Kate, is looking for a someone between ages of 16 and 25 to appear in a 3 minute documentary she is making about the negative stereotyping of young people today. If you are in that age group, or knows someone of that age, who feels that their appearance determines the way that others [...] ↓ Read the rest of this entry...
Good news reaches me from Liberal Dem HQ, in the shape of the announcement by Vince Cable that a new independent pubs adjudicator is to be appointed to help struggling landlords suffering from unfair practices in the industry. The adjudicator will enforce a new statutory Code, which will oversee the relationship between publicans and large pub companies (pubcos). It will ensure publicans get a fair deal on rent and the prices they pay for beer. A party press release quotes Lib Dem MP Greg Mulholland, chair of the all-party parliamentary Save the Pub Group, who has long campaigned for a ...
Cross-posted from Digital Politico: Politics 2.0: There has been growing concern within the Liberal Democrats about Secret Courts - or Closed Material Proceedings as the government would prefer them to be known. Hundreds of Lib Dem members have signed a petition against the move, which was roundly rejected by the party's conference in September. While members can't mandate parliamentarians, the outcry from within the Lib Dems should have given Honourable Members of both Houses an indication in how to proceed. Instead, this appeared in the Government's Mid-Term review, published yesterday: We will legislate to ensure that the security services are ...
A new independent pubs Adjudicator will be set up by the Coalition Government to help struggling landlords suffering from unfair practices in the industry, Liberal Democrat Business Secretary, Vince Cable has announced. The Adjudicator will enforce a new statutory Code, which will oversee the relationship between publicans and large pub companies (pubcos). It will ensure publicans get a fair deal on rent and the prices they pay for beer. Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Save the Pub Group, Liberal Democrat MP Greg Mulholland has long campaigned for a fairer deal for pubs. Welcoming the move, he said: "Pubs are ...
Last month I was asked by the in house Lib Dem magazine (AdLib) to make the case against minimum pricing in around 250 words. As the January edition is now out I reproduce it here for your reading pleasure. My first draft hit 1000 words so after much editing I settled on the following..... Latest ONS figures show average weekly alcohol consumption has decreased by almost a third, and the proportion of people who drink heavily also falling. These falls continue a trend of declining consumption that goes back to the turn of the century. But, let's ignore facts and ...
I am always told to be very careful about what I say about what goes on in meetings of the Federal Policy Committee. However, in the interests of transparency and accountability, I should say that I did not vote in favour of the composition of the Manifesto Working Group when FPC met last night. Indeed, I went further and moved an amendment declining to endorse it. The membership of the group is not particularly representative; while it undoubtedly contains many people of merit (including, for the record, David Laws who does think originally and usefully in many areas), it is ...
This is a classic. Well done Alex Jones! There are not many people who can make Brits feel on the side of Piers Morgan! (not to mention finding, at last, the solution to his dismal ratings). After the show, Piers Morgan waspishly tweeted: Comforting that @realalexjones personally owns 50 firearms, isn't it..... — Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) January 8, 2013 [IMG: Post to Twitter] Tweet This Post
There were no serious doubts the Coalition Government's Benefits Uprating Bill — pegging increases in welfare payments at a below-inflation 1%, the same as public sector wage rises, for the next three years — would be approved. The only question was the size of majority and how many Lib Dems would rebel (I've been keeping a running tally here this afternoon). There were two votes tonight. First, a Labour amendment to the Bill, defeated by 321 votes to 262, a government majority of 59. Then a vote on the unamended second reading, which the government won by 324 votes to ...
The Conservative led Cornwall Council has just published its draft budget for the coming year. I'm going through the details and I'll blog the key bits as I come to them. One of the first cuts that jumps out at me is the proposal to cut by more than half the community chest funding that each councillor gets to give to good projects in their local area. The plan is to cut this money from £2195 to £1037 each year. That's a cut of 52.8%. (The £2195 figure was itself a cut. It was meant to be £3000 a year ...
[IMG: David Bowie 2 - Some rights reserved by heartonastick] Happy 66th Birthday David Bowie! Well done on getting this far and thank you so much for giving fans a wonderful surprise reverse birthday present! I refer, of course, to his new single "Where are we now?" – on YouTube below. When I first heard a clip on Radio 4′s Today this morning, I thought it sounded like a load of old tosh. After all, as I reminded myself (bearing in mind I am a long-standing fan – "Rebel, Rebel" was the third single I bought) he has put out ...
It's now official: Lib Dem schools minister David Laws will chair the party's Manifesto Working Group. Lib Dem MP Duncan Hames, who chairs the party's Federal Policy Committee, has just emailed members with the following message: Last night at the party's Federal Policy Committee we agreed Nick Clegg's nomination of David Laws MP to Chair the Manifesto Working Group for the next General Election. Alongside David, we also appointed two Vice-Chairs - Sharon Bowles MEP and Duncan Brack – and nine further members of the group. The Manifesto Working Group reports to the Federal Policy Committee, which has responsibility for ...
A public consultation event/meeting to discuss a viable solution for the future of Barnes Hospital will be taking place on: Tuesday 15th January 2013 at 6pm, Cheadle Village Hall, Brook Road, Cheadle, SK8 1PQ This is an excellent opportunity to liaise with the developers and architects and discuss the proposals. Unfortunately, this is exactly the same time that we councillors will be at Cheadle Area Committee in Heald Green so we can't make it to this event (though as previously reported, we have already met with developers and taken a look at the plans). 1365-Barnes Invite 15th Jan
The Christmas Invasion is a really hot contender for this one - mostly because David Tennant's first full episode is Anna's favourite. It was the show that hooked her on the show and for that I will always be grateful to it. Interesting take, too, on how politics sweats the small stuff. The British PM orders the destruction of an alien ship in retreat, but it's the fact that she looks tired that does for her. And we know from Stolen Earth/Journey's End that Harriet Jones learned from the experience. I love the Five Doctors, just like Jennie - although ...
Sefton's Labour cabinet have cancelled their meeting that was due to take place next Thursday. The reason given by officers is that there was only two information items for consideration, which did not justify calling a meeting. Why do I get the feeling that the opposition(and residents) are being kept in the dark ahead of an important Full Council meeting to be held later this month. It seems to be the season for cancelling meetings. Sefton's website informed me this morning that the following meetings have been cancelled: Site Visit for Overview and Scrutiny on 14th January CANCELLEDLicensing & Regulatory ...
Today, David Laws has been announced as chairing the Lib Dem Manifesto Chairing Group. This is positive news. You can view all the members of the Working Group here Overall, I'm quite happy with the membership – although as Jennie Rigg notes too male & pale – but would be nice to see some who aren't ...
Someone must be reading this blog...! On Saturday I wrote a piece about the welcome resurgence of interest in the campaign to reform the failing pubcos, alongside the fire sale of Admiral Taverns and against the backdrop of uncertainty about the future of top Reading real ale pub The Retreat (among many others). Three days later, welcome news that at long last, the call for action is being heeded by the Lib Dem Government, with Vince Cable's announcement that the Government intends to take action to reform the large pub companies by consulting on the introduction of a statutory code ...
According to Duncan Hames... "Nick Clegg has charged David Laws and the (manifesto) Working Group with thoroughly stress-testing the deliverability and affordability of the future manifesto and to build on the approach of the last manifesto by clearly identifying our top priorities for a future government" I seem to recall we said the same about the last manifesto Presumably abolishing tuition fees is a shoe in then? PS: Here's the full working committee David Laws MP, Chair• Sharon Bowles MEP, Vice-Chair• Duncan Brack, Vice-Chair (FPC Vice-Chair)• Nick Clegg MP (Leader, FPC Member)• Tim Farron MP (President, FPC Member)• Duncan Hames ...
The full membership of the committee tasked with building the next Lib Dem manifesto is: • David Laws MP, Chair • Sharon Bowles MEP, Vice-Chair • Duncan Brack, Vice-Chair (FPC Vice-Chair) • Nick Clegg MP (Leader, FPC Member) • Tim Farron MP (President, FPC Member) • Duncan Hames MP (FPC Chair) • Cllr Dr Julie Smith (FPC Vice-Chair) • Dr Julian Huppert MP (FPC Vice-Chair) • Jenny Willott MP (FPC Member) • Baroness Sal Brinton (FPC Member) • Jo Swinson MP • Lord John Shipley At first glance this lacks diversity in a couple of concerning areas. First, it's almost ...
It's just confirming what everyone in Cornwall suspected, but the Labour Party have today announced that they have given up any hope of winning an MP in Cornwall at the next general election. The real battle, as always, will be between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats. It is unusual for any political party to make public their list of target seats - those they think they can gain at a general election. But today Labour did just that - listing 106 seats across the UK that they will be trying to add to their current total in 2015. It is ...
In a move set to infuriate the left of the party, David Laws MP has been announced as the Chairman of the 2015 manifesto working group. The author of the orange book, will now be the author of the manifesto.
Crown House at 41-43 East Dulwich Road is the ex. Dulwich Area Housing office. It's had a busy last six month seeing two planning applications to its reuse. Nursery The first was a planning application for new 100+ nursery places, refused by Southwark Council but the applicant has appealed it. It was refused as the council doesn't think they've made enough efforts to lease it as office spaces protecting local employment. And also no transport report. The former is odd as with such huge shortages of nursery places many are unable to go back to work. So this feels a ...
(a list of the questions and links to all the answers can be found on this entry) Season 18. There are some stories I am very fond of in Season 18 (Keeper of Traken, for example), and my first memory of anything ever occurs at its end. I would point out that this is "least favourite" rather than "most hated". Nevertheless, my reasons for picking season 18 are twofold. Firstly, when you watch it, you can see that Tom's heart is not in it any more. He can't even be arsed to phone it in for some episodes, and for ...
The debate on the Benefits Uprating Bill is well underway, and a small band of Liberal Democrats are rebelling against the 1% rise. Some of these used Twitter to announce and clarify their position on the bill, and the same name appear across the blogosphere, including posts from Guido and Stephen Tall. The rebels in ...
Tue 8th
17:27
Federal Executive meeting next week - what do you party members think our priorities should be over ...
Next week, the new Liberal Democrat Federal Executive is being whisked to a secret and highly unglamorous location for a special meeting. It's a sensible step to take some time out at the start of our term to set our goals for the next two years. You don't have the space to do that in a normal agenda, so I'm looking forward to a more focussed discussion about our priorities. The decisions the party makes over the next two years and four months will affect our fortunes for a long time to come. To me it's clear that we need ...
Sometimes it seems that our economy is being run from a parallel universe. For example, you might think that the big banks that have been mired in scandal would make a bad investment. You would be wrong. Today's Financial Times reports on how bank shares performed last year: In several cases 2012 share price performances were seemingly driven by some bizarre inverse correlation with lenders' misdeeds. Among the best performers were three of the big UK banks - Barclays, which was fined $450m over Libor and lost its chairman and chief executive; HSBC, which was fined $1.9bn over Mexican money ...
Fascinating Economist article comparing the European Union and the Holy Roman Empire, the current crisis in the EU and the decisive moment which is upon us with the Reichstag meeting in Regensburg in 1652. Probably safe to assume that Van Rumpuy will not arrive accompanied by 60 musicians and three dwarves, unlike Ferdinand III, the Habsburg monarch of the Holy Roman Empire. There is
There is still no date being set for the re-opening of all the closed beds at Launceston hospital. That was one of the messages from the Chief Executive of Peninsula Community Health, Kevin Baber, when he spoke to councillors this morning. As many as ten of the twenty beds in the hospital have been closed for some time and Mr Baber told councillors towards the end of the last year that his organisation was hoping to get some of them re-opened by the end of January. And the report he produced for the committee today indicated that they would have ...
[IMG: Nick Clegg coffee - Some rights reserved by Liberal Democrats] There can't be a Lib Dem who doesn't wince when the phrase 'shirkers versus strivers' is used. I don't want to perpetuate this poisonous comparison, but hopefully my headline will draw in some of those taken in by the phrase and expose them to a different analysis. While none of us would want to withhold support for 'strivers', aka 'hard-working families', we cannot allow the terms 'shirkers' or 'scroungers' to become the standard descriptions used for people who are unemployed (especially in a period of high unemployment brought about ...
Yesterday, I had a very useful meeting with National Express Dundee's Managing Director and External Communications Officer following my raising issues about the recent bus fares increase. We discussed the reasons behind the increase in some depth and it is clear that a number of the factors behind it are outwith the direct control of the bus operators, in particular the Scottish Government's cuts to the Bus Service Operators' Grant. Although not linked to the recent bus fare rise, there are also concerns about Scottish Government's cap on funding the concessionary travel scheme and the potential situation for 2013/14. One ...
The Scottish Government has launched a campaign today called "Drop a glass size", aimed at women to get them to cut their alcohol consumption. The theory is sound enough. Wine glasses come in all shapes and sizes and, of course, if you use a smaller glass, and have the same number of glasses a week, you'll consume less alcohol, which is a good thing. The method, though, oh dear. Why should we stop drinking? Because it ruins our looks, apparently. Are women not already under enough pressure to look good, to conform to often unattainable standards of beauty? If we're ...
Three Lib Dem MPs have so far publicly declared they'll rebel against the Coalition Government's Benefits Uprating Bill. This is the Bill being debated in the Commons this afternoon which pegs increases in welfare payments at a below-inflation 1%, the same as public sector wage rises, for the next three years. It's a blatant legislative trap sprung by the Tories to box Labour into a corner, an attempt to portray the Opposition as in league with 'shirkers' in contrast to the Coalition's backing for 'workers' (though to be fair to Work and Pensions secrtary Iain Duncan Smith that's more the ...
I do apologise for any distress the image in that headline may have caused you. I can assure you that no foundations of buildings were damaged as a result. At least not to my knowledge anyway. I have been back at the gym. It's been a long time since my last visit. Too long. Yesterday I did some bike and treadmill and was knackered after half an hour. Today I went for a Zumba class. Sadly, the instructor's computer wouldn't work. After some hanging around, he put on a CD from 2010 and he and the rest of the class ...
The Independent from a few days ago carries a fascinating and very enjoyable profile of everybody's favourite Tory MP, Jacob Rees-Mogg. Jacob is endearingly honest and forthright in his views, as well as very posh, qualities that have even spawned a parody twitter account and a viral video from a previous profile. Details of both can be found here. Characteristically, the MP embraces his poshness: Quentin Letts called him the "Hon Member for the Early 20th Century" who was "41 going on 90", while Ann Treneman noted that if there was "ever anyone who personifies the words 'out of touch', ...
How to get a photo to appear next to your comments You may have noticed that next to some people's comments is a small picture of themselves, such as: If you want a picture to appear next to your comments you need to do two things. Visit Gravatar.com, create an account and upload a picture. Post a comment, giving the same email address as the one you've used on Gravatar. How to show you are a party member when commenting The option to put a photo next to your comment is open to everyone. In addition, if you're a party ...
I know I haven't posted much in the last week or so, but bear with me until this weekend. But there may also be an exciting announcement about something newish to me starting next week too.
North Wales transport infrastructure must not be allowed to be left behind. That is why I am leading a debate this week in the National Assembly calling for strong cross-party co-operation in supporting the case for north Wales electrification. Following the announcement by the Coalition Government of its intention to electrify the South Wales Mainline, the Welsh Liberal Democrats are calling on the Welsh Government to start work immediately on developing a business case that can then be submitted to the UK Department of Transport. The Welsh Liberal Democrats believe that all streams of investment must be explored, including the ...
A quick reminder, as I am usually asked a few times by those with gardens, that Birmingham City Council's green waste collections will restart on February 25th this year.
Here's today's hand-picked selection that caught my interest... Not just for Christmas? | The Waugh Room | | PoliticsHome .@paulwaugh spots Mid-Term Review's framing picture: "It conjures up an image of a populace not waving but drowning" http://buff.ly/UExbts Forward, say Cameron and Clegg. But to where? – Comment – Voices – The Independent .@SteveRichards14: "For Cam & Clegg it's full steam ahead but in a context in which both have almost no room to move." http://buff.ly/VLY2PN Barack Obama, Chuck Hagel and John Brennan: Similar visions | The Economist Obama, Hagel & Brennan's world-view: "complicated, messy + all too frequently impervious ...
Meols Ward Lib Dem Councillors John Dodd, David Rimmer and Nigel Ashton are holding their next monthly advice centre on Saturday 12th January, from 11 am to 12 noon at St John's Primary School, Rufford Road, Crossens. We will be there to meet you and discuss any Council problems you may have. No appointment necessary. Just pop in. We hold our advice centre every month (except August) on the second Saturday of the month at St John's School, Crossens.
In politics, you have got to do what you think is right. Tonight, I will not be supporting a 1% cap on benefit rises as it will harm 7 million working families . I understand that finding budget cuts are ... Continue reading →
Just met with #Whips and let them know I will not be voting for the Benefit Cap tonight. Hope to speak in debate, too. — John Leech(@johnleechmcr) January 8, 2013 Sarah Teather having a rebel too. Think this one might get messy...
As I mentioned earlier, one of the pleasant surprises with the Mid-Term Review was the inclusion of a promise to do more on civil liberties: As we take these steps to reshape the British state for the 21st century, we will take further steps to limit its scope and extend our freedoms. The two main civil liberties issues at the moment are secret courts and the online snoopers' charter, which are covered elsewhere in the document: We will legislate to ensure that the security services are properly monitored through increased Parliamentary oversight and that proper balance is struck in trials ...
My first QR code post of 2013! I'm a long term fan of QR codes. I know some people don't like the idea of augmenting reality with specific tags for computer vision - but I do. Some people prefer RFID/NFC. Others still prefer dedicated augmented video apps. As I've written many times before, QR codes have several substantial advantages over alternate technologies. QR is a free and open standard. Compatible with every phone with a camera. No need to build or use a dedicated app. Free to generate. Today, in the canteen, I think I have found the quintessential example ...
There has been growing concern within the Liberal Democrats about Secret Courts – or Closed Material Proceedings as the government would prefer them to be known. Hundreds of Lib Dem members have signed a petition against the move, which was roundly rejected by the party's conference in September. While members can't mandate parliamentarians, the outcry ...
[IMG: nhs sign lrg] Many people are clearly still very angry at, what they perceive to be, Liberal Democrats waving through Conservative plans to fragment and privatise the NHS - despite it not being in the Coalition Agreement - and believe that, within that, mental health treatment in the NHS will inevitably suffer. I do not think that anybody who reads these pages will believe that the party can regain every vote which we have lost because of the NHS Bill. I can only speak from personal experience and for me there have been two clear problems during my own ...
A stringent and well-justified criticism of UK Prime Minister David Cameron's dangerous strategy in relation to the EU, by Petros Fassoulas of the European Movement UK: Cameron's EU strategy lies where arrogance meets absurdity. Seldom does a Prime Minister display such lack of diplomatic common sense as David Cameron does when it comes to his ...
Tue 8th
11:10
SW MEP calls for solidarity and vigilance as Schmallenberg virus continues to spread across West Cou...
South West Conservative MEP Julie Girling has urged constituents to remain vigilant and continue to support their local farms throughout 2013 as the Schmallenberg virus continues to spread across the region. The virus, first discovered in the UK just over a year ago, causes fatal birth defects in sheep and cattle and vets in the region have recently warned the virus is poised to again rip
A classic Focus shot here. The potholes in Arundel Rd have been reported for repair. Thanks to all those who got in touch. I was amazed how deep the craters were.
Bernie Blaney was a good friend to many. I knew him as a Liberal activist but he was also a folk singer, 'master quizzer,' fell walker, barber shop singer, teacher, charity worker and family man. Bernie was one of the activists who along with Lorna Smith, David Vasmer and other breathed new life into Birkdale Liberals in the early 1980's. Bernie had to retire from teaching after became ill and needed a kidney transplant. Bernie worked with the Southport Kidney Fund whose chair at the time was Joan Coleman. The Southport Visiter reported on the tribute to Bernie that the ...
I aIways knew when we went into Coalition that there would be moments when I would need to be locked in a cupboard with a bottle of gin. Tonight is one of them when MPs vote on a proposal, which, sadly is almost assured to pass, to raise benefits by only 1% for each of the next 3 years. The current inflation rate is 2.2%. To give the poorest in society less than half of what they need to stand still is simply not acceptable. I do realise that Nick Clegg's position is different from the Tory undeserving poor rhetoric, ...
The Liberal Democrats' Federal Policy Committee (FPC) last night voted by 14 to 8 to accept Nick Clegg's nomination of David Laws to chair the working group that will draft the next general election manifesto. (See this blog's previous reports here and here). This decision was not a ringing endorsement. Clegg and Laws won the vote but lost the argument, with some of the 14 who voted for Laws nevertheless openly critical of his nomination. They reluctantly accepted Laws only after it was made clear that the working group would remain subordinate to the FPC. This is not a good ...
[IMG: The winning Kendal Town Councillors] Some of you may have heard this brief anecdote before. Some years ago a civil servant appeared in St Albans attempting to sell some 'new' ideas from the Government of the day about local government. He stood up before various district and county councillors in Hertfordshire and announced that 'in future the Government wanted councillors to represent the people to the town hall rather than the other way round.' He said it without malice or irony and as a result was not lynched - turning up some years later to dismantle the Audit Commission. ...
Help Peter David Author Peter David has had a stroke, and because he lives in the USA the financial implications of this are pretty bloody terrifying. If you want to help out there is information on how to do so here. (tags: ) Son of JRR Tolkien feels like he has been screwed by the movie business Reads to me like his dad got a hell of a lot better deal than most authors. (tags: ) James McAvoy says he wants to play Gandalf in The Silmarillion (tags: ) Charlie Brooker on how to avoid catching norovirus (tags: ) oneTesla: ...
Bury Council has announced proposals to completely abolish the important Park Ranger service. We are totally opposed to this proposal from the Council in Bury. We all know that savings need to be made by all public sector bodies in these difficult economic times, but there are other ways the Council could save money without devastating a front line service like this. The proposals are currently subject to consultation, so now is the opportunity for us all to try to get our Labour-run council to change its mind on this. The Park Rangers play a vital role across Prestwich and ...
The local Police have issued crime statistics that compare December 2012 with a year before, December 2011. While most types of crime have reduced or remain steady, there is a worrying increase in car crime in the Prestwich area as this graph shows. (The blue bars are December 2012 – vehicle crime the fourth figure in.) [IMG: Screen Shot 2013-01-08 at 08.12.14] We can all help reduce car crime. The following advice is from the Police: Vehicle crime – don't become their next victim – protect yourself Did you know ... Almost all vehicle crime is preventable. It can take ...
I posted last night my initial reactions to the Coalition's Mid-Term Review: It's hit and miss. But the biggest miss are the wasted opportunities. Three further quick points: 1) The Coalition's survived: that's significant One omission in my review, and it's a biggie: I should have noted the significance of the Coalition having stuck as a governing entity. The fact that Nick Clegg and David Cameron are making two-party government work at all is an achievement, one noted last week even by Matthew d'Ancona not a natural friend of the Lib Dems or pluralism: For two decades we embraced the ...
Episode 42 of the House of Comments podcast "The Shelf Stacking Reflex" was recorded on Sunday and is out today. This week myself and Emma Burnell cover Labour's work guarantee, the coalition's mid-term review and they give their own assessments of how the government and coalition has worked thus far. Also, Emma takes me to task on my reflex for conflating entry-level jobs with shelf stacking! You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes here (note - this is a new feed so if you used to subscribe to the old feed a couple of years ago you'll need to ...
One of the gems of bureaucratic jargon liberally spread through yesterday's coalition mid term review was this beauty: We will encourage the exploitation of shale gas by developing a targeted tax regime for the industry and by ensuring that regulation is properly co-ordinated through a new single Office for Unconventional Gas...Which left me thinking who could head up an office for unconventional gas? Well only one person really springs to mind...
The Evening Standard's freelance art critic, Brian Sewell, has established himself as something of a national treasure, even if some of his colleagues in the art world have a tendency to kick him in the shins. He is often acerbic, indeed can be curmudgeonly, and is widely believed to be fonder of dogs than of humans. ...
I have today launched my January 2013 Update to West End Community Council. Subjects covered include: Blackness Library Riverside Drive - potholes Westfield Place Roseangle recycling centreThe Community Council meets this evening at Logie St John's (Cross) Church Hall at 7pm - all residents welcome. You can download my Update here.
I'm not the only person seemingly underwhelmed by the coalition's mid term review. Stephen Tall on Lib Dem voice talked about 'wasted opportunities' and Newsnight even illustrated the dearth of new initiatives with the sound of tumbleweed. My main issue with it (apart from the unnecessary repeat of the Rose Garden double act) is that it takes no regard of the origins of the various policies or what the competing elements of the coalition are seeking to do going forward. Now I know the document was probably written by some civil servant or policy wonk - but it is in ...
Counting down towards the fiftieth birthday of Doctor Who with Fifty great scenes... It's my first choice of the fiftieth anniversary year itself, so it's back to the beginning: today, William Hartnell would have been 105 years old. The Doctor - the original, you might say, and over the years he's become my favourite. The Rescue is a great place to start for Mr Hartnell, a short adventure that nevertheless showcases his versatility - stern, kindly, vulnerable, intelligent, embarrassed, and often funny here, too. "Oh, but Doctor, the trembling's stopped." "Oh, my dear! I'm so glad you're feeling better. Hmm!" ...
