Why Mali and why now? Contrary to the western media picture of al Qaeda militants in the north threatening the stability of the region, 90 percent of Mali is Muslim with the overwhelming majority of ...
Last Friday Education Secretary, Michael Gove, visited Coombe Girls school in New Malden where he held a Q&A with some of the students. And a report of this session appears on the school's website. But the exchange that caught my eye was this one: What in particular do you look for when you visit schools? Mr Gove referred us to his list of three things which he looks for whenever he visits a school. One: he prefers to be shown round by the pupils, as they are the most important ones. Two: he wants to see pupils who are engaged ...
There are reports of widespread cuts affecting local councils and it's looking likely that Manchester will close libraries and swimming pools. These are difficult times and it will be interesting to see how cuts are presented in the campaigning for the elections in May. I would emphasise the benefits of supporting education, and libraries are closely related to that. I would also prioritise health promotion and as far as the council is concerned this would mean sports facilities. Exactly the opposite of Manchester Council's view. The Labour leader of Manchester City Council said "Manchester has again been one of the ...
I think I may be hitting a period (the late "noughties") when my interest in pop diminished - I know that I could barely identify the vast majority of the tracks on NOW! 67! Still, I suppose that made choosing this week's track easier, in a way! Anyway, out of the limited choice I had, based on the criteria for this blog series, I've gone for Paolo Nutini singing about his New Shoes. I know the feeling, having recently got myself a lovely new pair in the sales! Enjoy!: Andrew
Students in the Isle of Man are protesting at the prospect of tuition fees. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/21034776 One student is seen holding a placard that reads 'enroll or dole' - I am not sure if this misspelling helps their cause. It could be argued that this error demonstrates the need for better financing for their university education but it makes a stronger argument for grade retention i.e. holding students back a year as they do in the USA. With the American spelling there is a slight possiblity that this particular student is trying to get into an American university instead of a ...
The nation waits, breath held, belts tight, ears cocked for the great leader's great speech on Europe. What will he say on Friday ? Why will he say it in the Hague ? Will it be perhaps in double Dutch ? The Tory europhobes give their view in Fresh Start. Simon Titley give his view of their view in the Liberator Blog . Andrew Duff gives his view in the pamphlet On governing Europe. I
Welp, DC, I hope you're happy. As of right now, my regular comics pull-list contains more Marvel comics than DC. Given how much I adore those DC girls, you can understand how weird it feels. It's basically the fault of Kelly Sue DeConnick and Matt Fraction, the couple who are currently writing the excellent Hawkeye (Fraction), Captain Marvel and Avengers Assemble (DeConnick). And of course Greg Rucka, whose not-quite-finished Punisher arc is how I started reading that series, because I'll pretty much follow him anywhere. Anyhoo, I picked up Hawkeye based on a recommendation from Starman, who described it as ...
I had a pop at illegal fly-posted signing in our town last week. But in our High Street area there is a lot of neglect. I want a smarter looking town. Am I wrong for wanting that? Wonky Sign-post. Rusty Bin. Ok, well it's not looking very smart ,but it still holds litter. This unused building is awaiting redevelopment. Meanwhile it appears someone has decided to elbow in some of the windows leaving jagged edges for anyone to cut their fingers on. Another nearby building has a broken window, and I drew the shopkeepers attention to it. He said it ...
Full Council met on the 10th December 2012. The meeting rumbled on a bit and was eventually finished last Thursday. I didn't blog the first part before Christmas after I spilled tea on my laptop. Turning my keyboard into a 'tea' board limited the keys that would work and I couldn't sum up the contents of the meeting using 'Z','a' and the forward and back slash keys. In fact if you can say
With apologies to those who've already seen this story — but it's too good for us not also to copy and paste from the Telegraph report... Nick Clegg's awesome spokesman: "I can't believe we are having this f—ing conversation again" buff.ly/VK1hdz — Stephen Tall (@stephentall) January 16, 2013 With Nick Clegg about to miss 'an unprecedented fourth meeting of the Privy Council' in his role as Lord President of the Council, the Telegraph spotted a mischief-making opportunity and phoned one of the leader's aides to get a quote. The reporter got more than he bargained for: [IMG: malcolm tucker] "I ...
Wistanstow, says the Shropshire Tourism website, has probably the best village hall in the world: Mrs Harriett Greene completed the black and white mock medieval hall in 1926 from the Grove estate as a memorial to her husband who died 11 years previously. It was built by estate workers using local timber, stones and bricks. Not a nail was used, only wooden pegs. When first built it included a projection room for silent films, slipper baths costing 1d a go, library and billiards room. The bungalows in the corners were for the caretaker and the district nurse.Harriet's husband, Henry David ...
[IMG: chris davies] A couple of months ago you may recall a big row when it was alleged three eastern European children were removed from their foster parents by Rotherham council because the couple were members of Ukip. Lib Dem MEP Chris Davies certainly recalls it. And on Monday he made a one-minute speech in the European Parliament about it: Chris Davies (ALDE ). – Mr President, before Christmas there was, rightly, a furore when social workers in Rotherham took away children from foster parents because they belonged to UKIP, believing it to be racist. Yet what are they to ...
Cllr Mike Pitt (LD, West Chesterton) Cambridge residents are to be offered extra protection from loan sharks through an initiative to be considered by Cambridge City Council at tomorrow's (Thursday, January 17) Community Services Scrutiny Committee. The move, to promote closer working with Cambridge Credit Union, involves £14,000 worth of funding to help find and train volunteers to work for the CU and a further £20,000 to support or secure emergency loans for people in crisis. "Times are tough for many people in our city," said Mike Pitt, Lib Dem Executive Councillor for Community Development and Health, "and people can ...
Today Paul Burstow, who seems to have gained a new lease of life since being sacked as a health minister, introduced his Corporate Accountability and Safeguarding of Adults from Abuse and Neglect in the Commons. As he described it in his speech: My Bill has two elements: to improve adult safeguarding and to close a loophole in the criminal law. It would amend the Health and Social Care Act 2008 to include a new offence of corporate neglect. This new law would act as a deterrent. It would force weak boards of directors to pull their socks up, visiting their ...
... as our money becomes completely electronic, new crimes will undoubtedly be committed which take advantage of the technology itself. Perhaps if we could imagine what crimes might happen, we could start to think about how to prevent them. What financial crimes could be committed within a completely electronic marketplace? Future of Money Design Award On one level, there's no change to the basic ideas of monetary crime. You either target an individual or a bank, then fool them or force them to relieve them of their money. Recent hacks of BitCoin banks are no different to an old fashioned ...
Yesterday Nick Clegg took part in a notably scratchy interview on the Radio's Today programme. In part this was due to that programme's philosophy that its own presenters are far more interesting and important than those they interview. Justin Webb once looked as though he might be an exception to this, but he now fits in very well. Another example of the programme's failings, incidentally, was its coverage of this morning's helicopter crash. It took half an hour for it to be mentioned, and the show ended with John Humphrys informing us that the helicopter was still dangling from the ...
Last night Emily Frith won out in a very competitive field to be the new Liberal Democrat Parliamentary candidate in Hampstead & Kilburn, taking over from Ed Fordham (who decided not to stand again). Here's how Emily Frith describes herself. It's an impressive description. [IMG: Emily Frith and Hampstead and Kilburn team] Emily at work Freelance experienced campaigner for a prison reform charity and dyslexia charity as a working parent National campaigner as Health Advisor in the Liberal Democrats central Policy and Research Unit for four years. Worked alongside Paul Burstow MP, Evan Harris MP and Steve Webb MP on ...
I guess River Song would have to come into that category. I think now her story is known she's better understood, but even when we didn't know who she was, I liked her. Yes, she was a bit full of herself, and it was annoying that she knew more about the Doctor than we did and wasn't backward about telling us so, but she was clearly clever, brave and loyal. That repeating, haunting "I'm sorry, my love" in the Big Bang shows us that her feelings for the Doctor are 100% genuine.And of course she had already sacrificed herself in ...
Today I visited the Clothes Exchange, which is an initiative set up by volunteers at Long Lane Church. The idea is that good quality clothes are donated, and taken, to help people who may be struggling financially and to help avoid things being thrown away. Obviously clothes can be an expense and some families do find themselves in a situation where there just isn't the cash to buy. I'll be writing in more detail about this shortly but for now the key details are Wednesday mornings in term time. 10 am to 11 30. Long Lane Church.
The following is a statement from newly elected Liberal Youth co-Chairs Sam Fisk and Kavya Kaushik. Congratulations! We would firstly like to say a huge thanks to Erlend Watson, Helen Duffett and Harry Matthews for running this election which saw online voting and big increase in voter turnout. Thanks should also go to all candidates ...
Wed 16th
18:31
MEPs adopt revised 2013 calendar after France wins appeal against cost-saving amendment
Following the European Court of Justice ruling of 13 December 2012 that annulled the cost-saving Amendment proposed by South West Conservative MEP Ashley Fox, MEPs have today approved a revised calendar of plenary meetings, ensuring the 'travelling circus' will continue and MEPs will again relocate from Brussels to Strasbourg twelve times in 2013 including twice in one month. Mr Fox's amendment,
There was a time about half a year ago when I was happy. If I wanted to be happy, I could be – all I needed to do was tell myself to be happy. It felt as if it were some higher form of existence, but I'm now aware of how unstable it was. I
Today's big news is (or would have been, were it not for the helicopter crash in London) the publication of a manifesto by the 'Fresh Start' group of Tory backbench MPs. This new eurosceptic faction is demanding "significant revisions" to EU treaties, with a substantial return of powers from the EU to the UK. Just how, exactly? The EU comprises 27 member states (soon to be 28 with the accession of Croatia). They proceed by agreement, which means negotiation and compromise. No single state can make unilateral changes to the treaties, not even a United Kingdom represented by politicians with ...
The Labour MP for Walthamstow needs to work on this a bit: Wonga claiming the voluntary codes will resolve all the problems in the legal loan shark industry. Like turkeys organising xmas dinner.... — stellacreasy (@stellacreasy) January 16, 2013
So yes. Rather a bludgeoning title but it stems from what a lot of people think. It seems that a significant number of people believe the Lib Dems to be the choice when there is no point voting Labour because they can't win or a protest vote against Labour if they are doing something badly. For many people voting for the Lib Dems isn't about voting for the Lib Dems per se – it is about voting and voting for someone who they don't dislike. Mark Pack wrote the piece entitled Why the defection of Brian Sedgemore is still relevant ...
The footpath from Caesar's Way is part of an off-road route from Cheriton to Junction 13 of the M20. But much of the path was muddy and overgrown and hard to use. [IMG: Tim Prater by footpath] Tim Prater by newly paved path running from Caesar's Way in Cheriton However, working with Kent's Public Right of Way team, Liberal Democrat Kent County Councillor Tim Prater has backed the work with funding from his Members Highways Fund to get it paved and overhanging "greenery" cut back. Tim says: "This path followed a really useful route, but was often muddy, slippy and ...
In 2012 House of Lords reform failed. In 2013 it's time for Liberal Democrats to show their continuing commitment to democratic reform. We clearly can't get the law changed at the moment but we can make a clear, unambiguous statement of intent. It's just simple democracy and it's easy; the membership should elect the Liberal Democrat candidates for the Lords. One simple motion at the party conference and a bit of commitment from the leadership is all it takes. Well of course it's not that simple, so let's examine a few of the arguments against and the counter arguments: This ...
The post-christmas culling continues with Jessops, HMV and Blockbusters going down the tubes. There seem to be three reasons why this is happening. 1. As Grace dent has said in the Indy the high street hasn't kept up with social changes – particularly that of internet shopping. 2. You just can't get the things you'd like ...
The current spell of freezing weather has triggered Cold Weather Payments for Birmingham residents who are eligible for them. You can check if you should be receiving Cold Weather Payments via this link. Payments amount to £25 for each 7 day periods of cold weather. So far in the current cold spell we have had one period. Payments are not made immediately but should be received within the next 2 weeks. If you have any queries about your Cold Weather Payments you should contact you pension centre or Job Centre Plus (depending on which benefit you receive).
Liberal Democrat Secretary of State for Scotland wrote in this weekend's Scotland on Sunday about the next steps as Scotland approaches the referendum on independence which will take place in the Autumn of 2014. Now that the relevant Section 30 Order, giving the Scottish Parliament the power to hold that referendum is clearing its way through Parliament, the focus turns to the issues rather than the process: But we need the "great debate" to flush out all the issues. Over the next few weeks and months, the UK Government will start publishing a series of papers that look at Scotland's ...
Plans by Communities Secretary, Eric Pickles to provide a £6 million fund to encourage radical projects that will help non-speakers to learn English so they can "improve their circumstances and climb the social ladder" are very welcome. However, as highlighted by the Independent, couldn't he find a more enticing reason for acquiring new language skills than it will enable beneficiaries to watch 'The Only Way Is Essex'? Shakespeare perhaps?
[IMG: Nick Clegg. Photo: Dave Radcliffe. Some rights reserved by Liberal Democrats Tomorrow at 9am it is the second of Nick Clegg's regular phone-in shows with Nick Ferrari on LBC Radio. Although LBC is a London radio station, last time the show included mostly callers from outside London and you don't have to be in London to listen to it. Digital radio: LBC is included on digital radio in large parts of England and also part of Wales. For details, see the map on LBC's website. Digital TV: Both Sky and Virgin include LBC in their channel offerings. Listen ...
Since before recorded history the inhabitants of this island have not got on with the mainland and conflict has been rife between the two ranging from raids to invasion to full out genocide. This has all subsided in the aftermath of World War Two. As Britain's star waned and her position as the World's greatest superpower was lost, Germany's star has risen from complete annihilation to economic powerhouse and let's face it, the real voice in the EU. The Conservative party has always had this divide over Europe that has gained even more relevance during the economic crisis and the ...
For the second time in a matter of months, a senior member of the Gibraltar Government has been visiting the European Parliament in Strasbourg for meetings. This week it was the turn of Dr John Cortes, the Gibraltar Government's Minister for Health and the Environment, who met with the European Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Maria Damanaki. The purpose of the meeting was to
In the wake of the #TransDocFail hashtag, it has become clear that bad or abusive healthcare at the hands of medical professionals is still as common as it has been historically. Many trans folk have a simple fix for this: don't tell random medical professionals your full history. This is tougher for trans men but in the case of trans women, "I take HRT and have no uterus or ovaries" tells them everything they need to know. The why simply does not matter one bit in the vast majority of interactions. But the NHS wants your data, ostensibly because it ...
Weather permitting, the replacement of the zebra crossing on Schools Hill with a modern puffin crossing will begin on 4th February 2013, and should be completed by the end of February. Although it's taken longer than we'd hoped to complete the planning, we're very glad to see this going in. There were several accidents on the crossing last winter and this is the latest in a series of measures to make that section of Schools Hill safer. Other measures include flashing speed signs and rumble strips to slow traffic down. I've also had a recent meeting with Mrs Marsh, the ...
On Friday David Cameron will make his big speech on Europe. There is only one thing now which will satisfy the Eurosceptics: a firm promise - and not just a 'cast-iron guarantee' – for a referendum on Europe. The speech - which must address the challenge of UKIP, mainly to the Tories – comes as the UK marks 40 years' of membership of what is now the European Union. Lord Ashcroft's recent polling of 20,000 Britons suggests that it is not Europe, but immigration which is encouraging Conservatives to switch to UKIP. However, the next national electoral challenge will be ...
Councillors at Cheadle Area Committee voted to give the Broadway 20mph zone the go-ahead. This was a Lib Dem campaign, started last spring as a result of safety concerns around the Broadway area. In the consultation, 80% of residents told the Council they agreed with the scheme. Although the Police don't enforce 20mph zones in Greater Manchester, the evidence is that they can reduce speed significantly – which can be the difference between a minor injury and something much more serious. The new zone will include Broadway, Daylesford Road, Daylesford Crescent and the roads off, linking up to High Grove ...
I was really pleased to read today that some women could appear in the Second XI of Sussex cricket club - particularly Sarah Taylor. The article is under a title with a quote from Mark Lane, who coaches England's women's cricket team stating that they could one day play the county game. My response is why not! I'm glad someone's finally saying this to start the discussion. I've long thought that there should be no reason for team sports to force segregation, surely all teams want the best players - irrespective of age, race or gender, if you're good enough ...
Cheadle Area Committee last night considered a planning application for the site of the former Greyhound Pub, at the junction of Ladybridge Road and Councillor Lane in Cheadle Hulme. A new Morisons "M" local store plus an additional unit are proposed, along with 21 parking spaces. We weren't being asked to make a decision: because the site is right on the border of two areas (Cheadle and Central Area Committees) we were being asked for comments to be passed onto the Planning and Highways Committee. They meet on 31st January at the Town Hall when the final decision will be ...
Sgt Craig Blackburn came to last night's Cheadle Area Committee, along with PCSO Natalie Brine and PCSO Kirsty Jackson. Sgt Blackburn is new to the area, with six months Cheadle policing now under his belt. He told us that crime levels are similar to last year. There's been an increase in burglaries in December and January (which seems to happen every year) and also a worrying increase in thefts from vehicles. Many of these thefts are due to cars being left unlocked, so do remember to lock up. Some residents have raised concerns with me about an electronic tool – ...
It was war at Cornwall Council's cabinet this morning as Conservative and Independent members rowed among themselves about their budget proposals. Chief target was Fiona Ferguson, Cabinet Member for Finance, who announced that she would not be supporting the budget proposals for which she is responsible. Liberal Democrats have said that Cllr Ferguson's position is untenable. As I have blogged before, Cllr Ferguson says that she is taking her national party's line and wants to see a council tax freeze. This appears to have been the outcome of a Tory group meeting last week. But today she admitted that such ...
Every election has to come to an end and #LYElects is no different. Our latest election/co-option mash-up ended and results are being released. Here are the figures. Winners! Chair: Sam Fisk & Kavya Kaushik Campaigns Officer: Will be announced 17th January Communications Officer: Steven Haynes International Officer: Conor McKenzie Membership Development Officer: Joshua Dixon Non-Portfolio Officer: Reece Edmends Chair (First Preference) ...
Someone said to me back in 2012 that I'd have to choose, either to be a politician or a journalist, this being one fence I couldn't sit on! Along those lines, I was struck today by how much longer a "half-life" a journalist has than a politician - thinking of people like Polly Toynbee, Julie Burchill and Caitlin Moran that have been writing for decades - plus the careers of broadcasters like Nick Ross, Simon Mayo and Chris Evans span decades. Some media careers are only ended by death.... whereas comparatively few are (in the Commons at least) in politics. ...
Last night saw the public presentation of plans to develop the Barnes Hospital site in Cheadle. Unfortunately we local councillors were unable to attend as it clashed with Cheadle Area Committee. Although we saw the presentation back in December, we would have liked to see it with residents and get more of a feel for people's initial thoughts. If you were at the exhibition yesterday, do let us know what you think! Here is the presentation material giving more information on the proposals – to convert the hospital itself into flats and build more houses and apartments around it on ...
In February 2012, Vince Cable flew to the US to meet with the Chief Executive of General Motors to make the case for why they should continue to invest in the UK for the long term. The BBC reported that the meeting may have played an important role in the company's decision 3 months later to commit to invest in Ellesmere Port rather than at another of their EU plants. It is lucky, perhaps, that this investment decision did not come up one year later. Vince would have had a few less cards in his hand. Michael Heseltine put it ...
The Liberal Democrat opposition on Kent County Council have labelled the Kent County Council budget issued today as a typical pre-election budget from the Conservatives with large scale raids on reserves and savings based on unsecure (and unpublished) projections. Unlike in previous years, there is no detailed projection for the next three years, despite it being clear that partially due to this budget another £100 million of savings will be required next year, and reserves will no longer be available. Hidden within the proposals there are: A raid on reserves of over £16 million (including underspends from previous years) Another ...
I started this blog a while ago, but didn't finish it, I had the title of "Why I'll no longer be shopping at HMV" - so I've now rewritten it. People who know me should be surprised by this, given just how much I'm an advocate of owning the physical version of things (i.e. CD's rather than downloading music). I wrote a blog post on the issue back in 2011 when it was rumoured record companies would stop issuing CD's. So the news that HMV has appointed an administrator should sadden me... however I haven't shopped there for a few ...
Every week, Liberal Democrat Secretary of State for Scotland Michael Moore MP writes a column for newspapers in his Borders constituency. Here is the latest edition. State Pension One of the Lib Dem's top priorities since forming the Coalition Government has been to reform the State Pension and ensure that people can expect a fair and decent level of support when they retire. This is why we introduced the pensions 'triple lock' so that every year pensions would rise by either inflation, 2.5% or earnings and end the paltry 75p rises we saw under Labour. As a result of this ...
Union/K2 (previously Poison & Ore Bar – and before that Soviet Inion if I remember rightly) has applied to extend its licence for the hours of alcohol sale until 3.00 a.m. and regulated entertainment until 3.30 a.m. The application was January 15th and people have until February 12th to make representations to the county council Licensing Department. For this application ring 03000 265254. I'll be happy to take anyone's comments on the application.
I never made any great plans for this blog when I started it. Its origin stems from me spending three months travelling around the US in 2002, and then – in those days before I knew of sites like Flickr and its descendants – deciding to get myself a website to show off some of the photographs I took on that trip. While I was sorting out all the photos, I decided that my website should also have one of those blog things, and discovered that I could achieve all that through Blogger. So, I did. I'm not setting out ...
Transport for London has done some strategic analysis of transport trends. Most significant is that the population of London has expanded by ONE MILLION people in the last decade to 8.2 million people. I must admit I don't remember being asked to vote on this – it's not from new births. During the decade the number of jobs has been static at 5 million – with a dip of 250,000 jobs from the recession that has now fully recovered and up 5.2%. This contrasts sharply with the population rise. During the decade a sharp increase in trips by public transport ...
on sex discrimination in science the identification of the problem is spot on, and I suspect it's the same in pretty much any other industry. The proposed solution, though, will possibly make things worse. I think nameless applications would help though. (tags: ) Why did I not get that email from the Liberal Democrats? | Mark Pack Mark Pack details some of the ways you can check which email lists the party has you on. (tags: ) If you want to sell, write for children. Andrew on the book market. Comments worth reading too. (tags: ) Toby Young is an ...
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Courtesy of Anthony Fairclough, here is a Focus leaflet from 1986. It was for Dundonald Ward in Merton and contains a familiar looking style of photo at the bottom of page 2: You can download this document here (PDF, 140KB) For other leaflets from the past, see my series How leaflets used to look.
It seems Nick Clegg's aides, according to the Daily Telegraph, have a new role model: the infamous character of Malcolm Tucker in BBC2's (successful) satire of the Labour government, The Thick of It. Responding to a journalist enquiring about a story that Nick Clegg had been unable to attend a Privy Council meeting, the paper reports: "I can't believe we are having this ------- conversation again," an aide to the DPM emoted in a tirade worthy of Malcolm Tucker in the television series The Thick of It. "The ------ fact is he can't ------- be everywhere, but I know you ...
It must be a tough job providing a verbatim (edited) record of proceedings in the House of Commons, especially when there is such a range of accents, dialects and slang words being used by MPs. It is hardly surprising that at times the person preparing the record gives up and asks the member what they actually said, as happened here:
PoliticalBetting.com reports that bookmaker Paddy Power has announced its odds on who will lead the Liberal Democrats into the next general election. Not surprisingly, Nick Clegg is favourite at 8/15. His closest rival in the betting is Vince Cable at 7/2, followed by Tim Farron at 7/1. These odds sound about right. A change of leadership is not impossible before the 2015 election but is very unlikely, for three reasons. First, Clegg intends to maintain the coalition until the last minute. It is not clear what his exit strategy is, or even whether he has an exit strategy. But it ...
Following the Welsh Government's announcement that there is to be £25 million to go towards the new Health Technologies Fund, I would like the Welsh Labour Government to invest in innovative radiotherapy techniques like CyberKnife radiotherapy, intensity-modulated radiation therapy and image guided radiation therapy that will treat cancer patients in Wales rather then send patients to be treated in England. The Welsh Liberal Democrats have long argued for the need of innovative radiotherapy treatments to be based in Wales. Cyberknife is the most modern form of radiotherapy treatment and delivers the radiation so accurately it avoids damage to healthy tissue. ...
Yesterday, I was delighted to take part in a presentation at Blackness Library to Eilidh Van Aalten aged 8, winner of a competition run by the West End Christmas Fortnight in the run up to the festive season. Eilidh lives locally and attends Blackness Primary School. All local school children from the four West End Primary Schools were all invited to participate in a window spotting competition around the Perth Road district shopping area. They were tasked with following a trail of clues in shop front window displays, and from the 50+ correct entries, Eilidh's emerged out the hat at ...
Regular readers will know that this blog isn't of the "confessional" kind - and that whilst it represents me as a person, it isn't about me. The subject matter of this post has been on hold for a long time, mainly because I've not felt that these pages appropriate for such personal subject matter. Indeed, I'm not the type to share too freely in any circumstances, not just online! Previous thoughts of posts on this topic have been, typically, prompted by posts by my friend Stephen Glenn and some of his friends involved with these issues in Northern Ireland. Today's ...
(a list of the questions and links to all the answers can be found on this entry ) This evening's post is somewhat delayed because I have been recording a podcast. No, not the long awaited episode of Baggage Man where we discuss the Horns of Nimon and solve the UNIT dating controversy. Sorry. I thought I'd ease myself back into things by being a guest on someone else's podcast. We had lots of fun recording, and best of all I don't have to do the editing! I shall provide links to the finished product when it appears - it ...
I took a break this Christmas! I decided not to try and rush knitted presents for the niblings (making it the first time in all four years Abby did not get a hand knitted present from me), supposedly in order to concentrate on the busting of the stash. What ended up happening is I ended up making presents for the roommates instead. [IMG: MaryLennox] Becca's hat is based on the hat worn by Mary Lennox in the 1993 movie of The Secret Garden, and is from a pattern by Talena, knitted with KnitPicks Brava. It took about two days, I ...
The flag of Northumberland I thought people might like to see the monthly report I ask from the officers in the portfolio I am the executive member for on Northumberland County Council. Here are the highlights for December: December Highlights for Customer Relations and Culture Portfolio Our Facilities A variety of planned improvement works started and took place during December, including: · Preparation for the new integrated facility for Seaton Delaval at Astley Community High School. This included a special 'book buy' to purchase new stock specially tailored for the local community. The integrated facility opened successfully on 2 January, ...
[IMG: Baldness] I keep returning to Steve Hilton's comments on the rigidities and redundancies of the senior civil service, as reported in the Sunday Times. It all strikes me as a bit rum. Hilton was making three main points. First, that members of the Government were only finding out about some policy announcements from the media. And once they found out they didn't necessarily agree with what was being announced on their behalf. Second, Hilton conveyed his sense that the main purpose in life for the Mandarinate is to frustrate ministers' desires for action and change. Third, there is much ...
