A nice little clip of a steam working through Rutland's Wing Tunnel between Corby and Manton Junction. That's Wing as in the Wise Woman of Wing and the turf maze, of course.
I had a distinct sense of déja vu all over again at Europe House in Westminster this evening at the screening of a short documentary film "The Human Chain" (directed by Riccardo Russo). The film was co-produced by the World Food Programme (WFP) and the European Commission, to highlight their joint response to the 2012 ...
In November 2011, Mario Monti, an academic and former European Commissioner, was seen as the providential man to save Italy from its troubles. Now, only one year and a few months later, he is trailing behind in the polls and set to lose the upcoming elections. What happened? Here is my article on opendemocracy
[IMG: image] Kevin Ayers was very much part of growing up for me. His music was often played around the house by my brothers. My brother Andy can probably claim to have the largest and most well-kept collection of Kevin Ayers' albums in Cornwall. So it was sad today to hear of the great man's death. Here, in tribute, is one of his many excellent album covers (right) and a track which is one my all time favourite tunes – "Stranger in Blue Suede shoes" from Kevin Ayers' 1971 album Whatevershebringswesing – below on YouTube. I should mention that the ...
But as for the rest - the events I lived through in those strange last months of the conflict - nobody except Greene knows about them, and perhaps the American, Heller, for some of it. And the Doctor. Of course, the Doctor. Three grumpy book reviews this evening, the effects of post-Gallifrey jetlag (or timelag?) I suppose. But once again I wasn't wild about this one. The book is told in the first person by, in turn, Alan Turing, Graham Greene and Joseph Heller, as they one by one accompany the Doctor from Oxford through occupied France to Dresden in ...
A win for the Grimsby Telegraph: Noisy flatulence interrupts court session in Grimsby
If she saw it she would recognise it. Something awful had happened, or was about to happen, the last time she was there. We never went back, she told herself. I know that. We were too afraid. I thoroughly bounced off the first of the Kefahuchi Trilogy when I read it back in 2004, and read the third book in the sequence because it has been nominated for the BSFA Award. I found it a little more to my taste than Light, but that is not saying much; apart from Anna Waterman (the "she" of my quote above") I found ...
95 children & young people entered the 'My Kind of Place' competiton sharing their aspirations for our community. The winning design is being produced and will be unveiled on the 1st of March at 4pm in Beech Road Park at the Unity Arts & Friends of the Park Art Exhibition Space near the Wilton Rd gate. Unity Arts want to thank all the young creative participants, local schools, Friends of the Park, the library staff who hosted a week long exhibition of designs from all the participants. The winners of the My Kind of Place competition: 1st Prize goes to ...
Au séminaire, il est une façon de manger un œuf à la coque, qui annonce les progrès faits dans la vie dévote. In the seminary, there is a way of eating a boiled egg which reveals the progress one has made in the life of devotion. One of the classic nineteenth century novels which I had not read, written and set in the years leading up to 1830. The ambiguous protagonist, Julien Sorel, while training as a priest and confidential secretary, seduces the wife of one employer and the daughter of another; and a book that started off looking a ...
I have been informed that United Utilities need to undertake underground pipe works on the grass plot on Buckingham Road in Chorlton. The work will require the removal of one tree to allow excavation works. The tree a mature Sycamore is in fair condition but has decay at the union of its branches which make it susceptible to structural failure and as such the Council's Arbor Team Leader felt he could not object to its removal. Tree as it appears on Google Maps. Copyright belongs to Google. It is also intended to remove some rose bushes from the site ...
Cardinal Peter Turkson has claimed that Africa doesn't experience the same levels of clergy abusing children as other areas because of African's firm stance against homosexuality. Not only does this show a remarkably naive understanding of the sexual abuse of children (something disturbing considering his senior position within a Church still trying to recover from sexual abuse scandals which have often been made worse by Church authorities "misunderstanding" the causes and effects of such abuse) but it also makes a not too subtle suggestion that homosexuality is a cause of child sexual abuse. I have for many years ignored this ...
If you missed lesson 1 the you can view it here For those who saw lesson 1 welcome back, especially Ed Balls, who I know found lesson 1 very tricky* normal warning applies. I don't have the knowledge to speak with any authority about government finance beyond the bloody obvious, that only really silly people can't understand. Fortunately there is a scheme to help you identify the 'very
Below are recently submitted Planning Applications in the Chorlton area. You can find out more information about any of the proposals on the City Council's Planning Portal at http://tinyurl.com/yv6lex or by contacting the South Area Planning Group Manager - Roger Hall; Tel: (0161) 234 4536; email: r.hall@manchester.gov.uk . You can also make a Planning representation (in support or opposition) to Mr Hall or the designated planning officer for each application. Please feel free to contact me on (07947383740; cllr.v.chamberlain@manchester.gov.uk) if you wish to discuss any application and please also send me a copy of any representation you make. 101058/FO/2012/S1 The ...
This morning, BBC Radio Shropshire called council leader Keith Barrow into the studio to justify spending £619,000 on consultants (begins at 2:07). The interview was very revealing, not just on the huge consultancy bill but also on his leadership. It was fascinating and disturbing in equal measure to hear Keith explain how he had no ...
Kenya goes to the polls a week on Monday and it looks like it will go down to the wire between Raila Odinga and Uhuru Kenyatta. Kenyatta, of course, is due to defend himself sometime in April against charges of crimes against humanity at the ICC regarding post election violence in 2007. This has lead to the accusation that western powers won't do business with ICC indictees - which has unleashed a whole variety of diplomatic issues as well as, crucially, being seen by many Kenyans as the old colonial forces trying to tell them how to run their country. ...
Wed 20th
20:17
Call Clegg 20 February: E-cigarettes, London NHS, taxes, special needs and Arsene Wenger
This week and next, Call Clegg, Nick Clegg's weekly phone-in is happening on Wednesday rather than Thursday. Today's questions ranged from a new EU directive on e-cigarettes which Nick had never heard of to special needs to fair tax to the problems of the NHS in London. Today, a few of the questions were so long that it didn't flow as well as usual. However, when Nick got the chance, he really chatted properly with people as if there weren't millions of people listening. Mansion Tax The first question was from a man who bought his house in fashionable St ...
Guided Busway Maintenance Track Works start this week to install solar-powered stud lights along sections of the Busway maintenance track. Cambridgeshire County Council will be installing the studs between Orchard Park and St Ives, Oakington and Girton, and between Longstanton Park & Ride and Longstanton village. The studs have been used successfully on other cycle routes such as those between Over and Swavesey and on the Addenbrooke's to Shelford route. The Busway cycle track has been well used since its opening in August 2011 and new solar lighting will mean that it will be more attractive to use at night ...
You may have seen an article in yesterday's Manchester Evening News about how a grant from the Coalition Government is making it possible to roll out charging posts for electrical vehicles across Greater Manchester. I received the following notification about plans to place a charging point on Oswald Road*: "The Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) has provided a grant to deliver 160 Electric Vehicle Charging Posts across the Greater Manchester Region. There will also be a contribution from the Integrated Block and from Electricity North West (ENW). This total funding will be used to implement and maintain the Charging ...
Yesterday I blogged about how only a third of emailed newsletters and circulars sent out by the Department for Education to schools and teachers are read by the recipients. I also mentioned that you could choose who to blame for the low readership rate: Who is to blame for this? If nothing else I suspect these figures are a good test of your political instincts: are you already thinking the blame lies with Michael Gove and the Department for Education for not making their messages more compelling or with the teachers who aren't reading them in greater numbers? One way ...
[View the story "Eastleigh by-election: 20 February - Boris finds it hard to locate Tory voters" on Storify] Eastleigh by-election: 20 February – Boris finds it hard to locate Tory voters Storified by Mark Pack· Wed, Feb 20 2013 09:45:28 Over 200 helpers again today for the Liberal Democrat campaign, as... Tories sniff defeat as bullish Lib Dems pour into EastleighRecord numbers of Liberal Democrats have been drafted in to the pivotal Eastleigh by-election contest amid growing Conservative jitters t... Conservative candidates are however rather less keen at turning up to help: Tory Turnout Trouble in EastleighAs next week's by-election ...
It's exciting times on Fortune Green! For some years the turf has been deteriorating badly and the least amount of rain has turned the north west section of the Green into a soggy swamp - a few years ago we had some ducks on it! The Friends of Fortune Green have been working on ways to improve the Green and have applied to various funding bodies to get the funds to do this next part of the work. To nearly everyone's surprise on digging down they found not the streams we had always suspected but a large WWII air-raide shelter. ...
Over the last 18 months or so we've worked with the Heald Green councillors to look at the issue of parking on St Ann's Road North. It seems that a number of people who work at Cheadle Royal choose to park along the road rather than on the business park, as it makes it quicker for them to get home. There are a few issues with stopping it. Cars are in the most park parked legally, and there's no legal way to distinguish between someone who works at Cheadle Royal and anyone else who might be visiting the road. Just ...
Liberal Conspiracy have posted an extract from an open letter by the historian Anthony Seldon, which calls on Ed Balls, to resign as Shadow Chancellor. "Without you, Labour could present itself as a clean party, free of the factionalism and brutalism that so tarnished it when Brown was boss and you were his consigliere..." ...
Love and Garbage has the first draft of the Vicky Pryce trial jury's questions: 1. Can we rely on the readings of chicken entrails by the juror who sacrificed a chicken on the third day of deliberations? 2. If we believe that the accused had an identical twin who is wholly evil and may have committed the crime can we use this in reaching our decision? 3. Is the episode of The Tweenies featuring Max dressed as Jimmy Savile something we can take into account in reaching our decision?Read all 12 on Love and Garbage.
This will come as no news to older Liberals, but the main factor hobbling Britain's economic prosperity is land. That is the argument of Simon Tilford, chief economist at the Centre for European Reform think tank: The UK's essentially rigged market for land and its restrictive planning system are as big an obstacle to economic growth as restrictive labour markets and protected professions are in Southern Europe.The number of new homes built each year in Britain has lagged far behind demand from a growing population for 30 years. Despite faster population growth, house construction is currently running at half the ...
This afternoon, I took part in the latest meeting of the Harris Academy Project Board, the board charged with overseeing the new Harris Academy construction project and associated matters including the decant arrangements to Rockwell that takes place from this August. The board is chaired by the City Council's Chief Executive. We had a very productive and positive meeting today. The main issue discussed was the school transport arrangements for pupils during the decant. The principle of this was agreed today and parents and carers will now be contacted regarding the proposed arrangements and also sent a survey form to ...
Because I know you care: Goodreads Librarything number average number average Throne of the Crescent Moon, Saladin Ahmed 1664 3.60 195 3.55 2312, Kim Stanley Robinson 1644 3.42 285 3.51 The Killing Moon, N.K. Jemisin 1257 3.86 74 3.48 Ironskin, Tina Connolly 867 3.40 74 3.48 Glamour in Glass, Mary Robinette Kowal 706 3.75 107 3.85 The Drowning Girl, Caitlín R. Kiernan 424 3.95 80 4.11 Full shortlist (including short fiction, Ray Bradbury Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation and Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy Book) is here.
The World Development Movement has just launched a clever campaign called Bankers Anonymous, including a Five Step programme to break their addiction to speculating on food. The only slight quibble I have with this is that the programme turns out to be for us, and not really for the bankers - beginning with writing letters to our poor exhausted MPs. The original Twelve Step programme is what we need here, the one that was originally developed with the help of Carl Jung for alcoholics - and it is directly relevant. It involves recognising the addiction, realising you are powerless to ...
Wed 20th
14:27++Breaking News: Jury in Vicky Pryce trial discharged after failing to reach a verdict
The BBC reports that the jury in Vicky Pryce's trial for perverting the course of justice has been discharged after failing to reach a verdict. This comes after almost 4 days of deliberation. This morning they handed the judge a list of ten questions which the BBC have reported here. A retrial with a new jury will start next Monday. It's likely that sentencing of her ex husband, Chris Huhne, will be delayed until after this new trial. As this matter remains sub judice, personal comments about either Vicky or Chris won't be published at least until the trial has ...
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. Scotland analysis As the debate surrounding Scottish independence gets underway, the UK Government published its first in a series of 'Scotland analysis' papers last week to look at the legal implications of Scottish independence. The paper set out that, according to experts, a 'Yes' vote would make Scotland the 'successor' state and the rest of the UK the 'continuing' state. This rejects the First Minister's idea that Scotland and the UK would both be ...
The Electoral Commission have released party funding figures for UK political parties, showing that Labour continue to rack up substantial debts and to be reliant on union donations. The figures relate to October 1st 2012 to December 31st 2012 (Q4) and can be seen fully here. In Q4 2012 Labour received loans totalling £9,858,723. In comparison, the Conservatives ...
Wed 20th
13:41
Evidence that political journalists don't really understand the world beyond the Westminster Village...
[IMG: Benedict-Brogan_140] Okay, Ben Brogan, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume this sentence in your Morning Briefing on the Eastleigh by-election today was deliberately ironic: Whether Ukip receive a polling boost from the Times's report of the party's endorsement of the French nationalist Marine Le Pen at the Cambridge Union last night remains to be seen. No. No, it really doesn't remain to be seen.
Here's today's hand-picked selection that caught my interest... The car's the star. But it may not be for much longer – Comment – Voices – The Independent Hamish McRae sticks by his long-held view: the UK is *not* in recession. Here's his latest evidence http://buff.ly/VFO1Jl Hilary Mantel: why novelists are deliberately misunderstood "When Stupid fights back". Fab article » 'Hilary Mantel: why novelists are deliberately misunderstood' http://buff.ly/153x5N5
Today, I read this on projects announced by the President of the United States, and the European Union - the Human Brain Project, to be based in Switzerland and to cost upwards of 1.2 billion Euros - aims to map the human brain in a way akin to mapping the human genome. This has many exciting benefits, but one that caught my eye and hence my clicky-clicky finger is how interested the likes of Google and IBM could be in this development. Leading me onto how Google decided to construct a neural network and feed it "the internet" or data ...
A few weeks ago the Housing Regeneration and Heritage Minister made a statement in the Assembly chamber entitled 'Making a Difference: The Role of Museums, Archives and Libraries in Tackling Child Poverty' in which he announced an additional £150,000 to be spent before the end of March across his heritage portfolio. Naturally, I asked him how this money will be spent and how the outcomes will be monitored but did not get an answer so I tabled a written question to the same effect. This is the answer I had today: Changing Cultures / Newid Pethe will deliver a rich ...
Kirklees Liberal Youth (Facebook here) recently held a student Question Time! Read their report here. Kirklees Liberal Youth is a recently established group with the central objective of increasing political engagement within the council area but with an initial focus on bringing liberal politics to the University of Huddersfield. With this in mind, the inaugural ...
Iain Duncan Smith thinks he knows who keeps our supermarkets running - but does he know what scientists really do? Iain Duncan Smith, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, was interviewed on the Andrew Marr Show last Sunday about the government's back-to-work scheme. Referring to the case of Cait Reilly, a geology graduate who had challenged the government over the legality of her work placement at Poundland, Duncan Smith said: "There is a group of people out there who think they are too good for this kind of stuff," and that "the next time somebody goes in - those ...
[IMG: Chelmsford win] You would think Eastleigh was the only by-election in the world at the moment, but yesterday Liberal Democrats in Chelmsford saw the reward for their hard campaigning efforts when Graham Pooley saw off the Tories to win a Council by-election. He increased the Liberal Democrat share of the vote by 17.7%. TheConservatives saw their vote fall by 3.5%. The result, from the Chelmsford Liberal Democrats website, was as follows: Graham Pooley (Lib Dem) 543 Conservative 423 UKIP 280 Labour 129 Green 47 Congratulations to the Chelmsford team and to the new Councillor Pooley. It's also worth mentioning ...
This blog post about the Oxford Comma turns into a wider consideration of the poor quality of most writing on the internet: The internet has a much higher write-to-read ratio than traditional methods of mass content distribution. In television, radio, newspapers, books, film and theatre there is a hard division between a small number of content producers and a large number of content consumers. Not so the internet. Many of us go online with the intention of reading, but before we're done, we've written a bunch of tweets, sent off a comment, or engaged in an all out flame war, ...
I've really enjoyed learning from Kathy Sierra's talk "Creating the minimum badass user". It's an hour long, but well worth your time. She covers many aspects of product design, but the quote which really resonated with me was this - [IMG: How We Treat Customers] Zoomed in - [IMG: Treat Customers Right] This seems so applicable to many "services" these days. Millions spent on TV adverts, positive reviews, and glossy websites - yet nothing spent on customer care, and the entire shebang is held together with yarn. Imagine if politicians had to actually deliver on what they promised, or if ...
[IMG: fathom-poster] This is the latest in my series of Random Thoughts posts with links, things found on the web and other stuff that has occurred to me between 12th February 2013 and 19th February 2013: The Liberal Democrats are the only fair tax party – Danny Alexander "In government, Labour increased tax on low income households; in government the Lib Dems have led the largest programme of tax cuts for working people for a generation. If it's fairer taxes you want, the Liberal Democrats are the real thing and Labour a pale imitation." New Lib Dem peerages: runners and ...
Liberal Democrat Peer Lord Lester writes in today's Sun about amendments which could derail the long awaited reform of England's libel laws. He says that Labour's Lord Puttnam is leading attempts to introduce a "draconian version" of the Leveson proposals. He warns that if these amendments are passed, the whole attempt at libel reform could fall when the Bill reaches the Commons. First, he set out what the Bill is trying to do: The Bill creates a Serious Harm Test to prevent frivolous claims. It makes user-friendly the defences of honest opinion, truth and qualified privilege, and introduces an important ...
There have been two stories in the British media this week that should strike terror into the hearts of every single British Citizen. The first is the news that The UK has the smallest amount of savings put by for retirement of any major economy. The second story was that one in ten adults does no exercise and the majority of people in Britain have ceased to take any exercise at all by the age of 56. The first story is not entirely the result of personal fecklessness: there is no doubt that the actions of the Blair-Brown government destroyed ...
As you may have noticed a few weeks back when our bins were collected we were left with a new blue bag (pictured on the left) which marked the start of the textile recycling scheme in South Cambridgeshire. The scheme, which is currently on trial in 9 villages - this includes Dry Drayton but not Lolworth or Boxworth (or Girton) - across the district allowing you to dispose of textiles (coats, jackets, children's clothing, bedding, etc) and shoes in a way other than in the black bin. This additional waste will then be collected and sorted and those items that ...
The "bedroom tax" which is not actually a tax, but a cut in Housing Benefit if a tenant in social housing has more bedrooms than they are deemed to need, has caused much anxiety and disquiet in recent weeks. Its introduction in April means that tenants in social housing will need to find around £60 a month on already hard-pressed budgets. If they are unable to pay the extra, then they face eviction. Even ifsocial landlords decide not to evict and merely to pursue rent arrears, the stress of that debt and its impact on a family's ability to keep ...
Pedestrians this morning were literally sprinting past puddles as Thames Water continues to allow sewage to pour down London Road in St Albans. Chris White commented: 'Thames Water have been neglecting a defective manhole under the railway bridge for some time – despite repeated requests for action. Now they have allowed a second front to open up 50 metres further on. 'The result is foul running water over hundreds of metres and roadside puddles. Those trying to get to work are having to pause and then sprint past the puddles in order to avoid being splashed from head to to ...
Cicero's Songs: The Liberal Democrats must rediscover why they even exist- or extinction is certain "Some would say that this is a result of the inevitable new disciplines of being in a coalition government. I say it is selling out the proud radical dissenting Liberal tradition for a mess of pottage." - This, this, a thousand times this. Every time I get told off by a so-called Liberal for asking inconvenient questions because it hurts those in or seeking power, a little part of my soul dies. (tags: ) We should think about being good the way we think about ...
In a change to the usual schedule, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg will be taking questions from listeners around the country at 9am this morning, Wednesday (not tomorrow, Thursday): MT @lbc973: #CallClegg is on soon. Send in your questions and you could be asking the Deputy Prime Minister at 9am lbc.co.uk/call-clegg-nic... — Liberal Democrats (@LibDems) February 20, 2013 * 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.
The Myth of the Immigrant Benefit-Moocher, Part Two » Spectator Blogs Gavin Shuker and the law on prostitution « Strange Thoughts Enid Blyton deserves recognition, whatever her views on race. It's ridiculous to judge her by modern standards -... Chris Dillow is a genius: - The vaccination metaphor is sublime in its understatement and power Ed Miliband's 10p tax pledge is smart politics but poor policy | Andrew Rawnsley | Comment is free | The Observer By Ken Levine: Guys are not going to want to f**k her Stumbling and Mumbling: Narcissism and power-blindness Cicero's Songs: The Liberal Democrats must ...
Five Days in North Korea Andrew in one of the world's more mysterious places. (tags: northkorea ) Thoughts on the Hagel Filibuster and its Political Implications Or, how broken is the US Senate? (tags: )
A request from Tim Farron for Easteligh: Hi Chris, Tomorrow, I'll be joining our campaign team in Eastleigh for the third time. Anyone who has been on the ground will tell you one thing: this is going to be close. The polls back it up: the latest official poll in Eastleigh had the gap between ourselves and the Tories at just 1%. We're going to need to do everything we can in this final week if we're going to beat the Tories, and we need you to help. If you can support our campaign with a small donation today, it ...
I have never been subject to a "gagging order" so may have misunderstood the circumstances under which thy are imposed. If that is so I'd be happy to receive correction. However, from what I read in the papers there seems to be a great deal of opprobrium heaped on the organisation that imposes the gag, and the silenced whistle blower is hailed as something of a hero. But surely what has happened is that the whistle-blower is offered, and has accepted, a bribe to keep quiet. Admittedly some of these bribes must be very difficult to resist: one in the ...
Back in January I thought I'd have a bash at listing every health scare in the media for a year. I was going to post said list once a week. I failed. I just couldn't keep up with the tumult of nonsense that pours out of the main stream media which is normally cut and paste press releases without any questioning from the journalists who copy them. Todays front page of the Mail has found a way round this problem. Under the headline poisoned by everyday life there are 96 words in their front page story (for the rest turn ...
I recently posted an article about the forthcoming West End Local Community Planning Partnership (LCPP) meeting that takes place tomorrow evening at the Tartan Coffee House on Perth Road. You can now download here a 2 page leaflet that gives fuller information about the LCPP and also gives the dates of the other 2013 meetings that are planned.
The Welsh Liberal Democrats will be using their debate today to call for an empty homes strategy, after a poll was held by the party asking for people to decide what should be debated in the National Assembly. Marking the first time a political party has ever done such a thing, the Welsh Liberal Democrats launched an online poll in January asking people what they wanted debated in the National Assembly for Wales. A debate calling for a Welsh strategy for bringing empty homes back into use was chosen. Peter Black, Welsh Lib Dem Shadow Minister for Housing, commented: "Empty ...
See larger image Skyfall (Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy)[Region Free] (Blu-ray) Director: Sam Mendes Starring: Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, Javier Bardem, Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris Rating: Suitable for 12 years and over List Price: £26.99 GBP New From: £14.29 In Stock Used from: £13.00 In Stock Release date February 18, 2013. I thought that ...
As Vice Chair of Lewisham Children and Young People Select Committee I would like to share our latest report on our investigation into vulnerable children. Building for the future You can find further details of the report and download the full document here.
Counting down towards the fiftieth birthday of Doctor Who with Fifty great scenes... Tonight's is an especially fine cliffhanger moment, so if you've never experienced Enlightenment, meditate. Or, to remain unspoilered, pop in the third DVD from Doctor Who - The Black Guardian Trilogy and play Part One. Now you can safely look at the screenshot and the snippet of script below, and read just what captivates me aboard a mysterious Edwardian clipper. It's from an eerie 1983 tale, Doctor Who's first to be both written and directed by women, visually and emotionally unsettling, and the most striking revelation is... ...
