[IMG: Akaash Maharaj - Practical Idealism] I am enormously grateful to the Board of the Global Organization of Parliamentarians Against Corruption for their confidence in naming me their Executive Director, and I will work tirelessly to justify their faith. I feel deeply privileged to have a chance to work with GOPAC's global alliance of democratically elected parliamentarians to fight political corruption and advance the rule of law around the world.
One of the live debates in mental health at the moment concerns the new edition of the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). Many argue that its multiplication of the number of psychiatric disorders represents a medicalising of normal human emotions such as grief. This BBC Radio 4 programme gives a good introduction to the debate.
Having argued the other day that we are in danger of overestimating the role of Margaret Thatcher in the changes of the 1980s, I am becoming increasingly irritated by the overblown plans to mark her death. As a corrective, let me recall the book Rotten Borough by Oliver Anderson. Anderson's Independent obituary tells the story: Oliver Anderson was at the centre of a considerable furore when, in 1937, he wrote a satire on provincial life under the pen-name Julian Pine. The book, Rotten Borough, was withdrawn by the publisher after just three weeks under threat of a string of libel ...
The first consultation with probable users of the proposed skate park was today. For the first time this month the weather was spring like, which was just as well considering the amount of kit set up outside and the number of people of all ages watching the demonstrations. Lots of young people tried out the jumps themselves, at times perhaps surprising themselves at what they could achieve.
I noticed yesterday the Daily Mail made the claim that Margaret Thatcher "saved Britain". That really is a most absurd claim to make, not least because she oversaw - and was largely responsible for - the decline of her party in Scotland. Having given it a bit of thought, I also arrived at the conclusion that Thatcher is also responsible for the independence referendum. How, you may ask. Without Maggie Thatcher there would have been no "democratic deficit" for the Scottish Constitutional Convention to address in the late 1980s. Without the convention, there would have been no Scottish parliament. Without ...
Earlier today, I attended the latest meeting of the Jericho House support group, a regular meeting at which a number of us discuss fundraising and other projects to support this important facility in the West End Ward, that assists those recovering from alcoholism.We had a useful update on "Families Anonymous", the family support group recently formed that is now meeting weekly.The "Broken Puzzle" play, being performed later this month, is progressing well and we would urge residents to attend.
I live-tweeted several session at the British Psychological Society Annual Conference today. One was based around the Society's report Obesity in the UK: A Psychological Perspective, which can be downloaded free of charge. One interesting point from the discussion was a veiled criticism of commercial weight-loss programmes. Anyone can lose weight in the short term: the difficult part is keeping it off after that. But such a pattern of yo-yo dieting suits commercial providers rather nicely.
A request was made for Ealing Council to hold a minutes silence and to lower the flag at Ealing Town Hall with regard to Margaret Thatcher who passed away this week. My statement reads: "My compassion goes to the family and friends of Lady Thatcher. Clearly, Lady Thatcher's legacy is seen by some as being positive and others not so. The legacy left by Baroness Thatcher, with respect to housing stock within the local government sector, is still being felt today. Lowering the town hall flag or having a minutes silence at the next Council meeting would not be appropriate ...
MPs in the Commons and peers in the Lords have been queuing up this afternoon to record their tributes to Margaret Thatcher, including both Nick Clegg and Paddy Ashdown. To read both their tributes, please scroll down the page. Nick's come in for some stick on Twitter, mostly from right-wing MPs/journalists, for instance Mark Reckless and Sarah Wollaston; even the usually fair-minded Isabel Hardman of The Spectator called it "sour". I've both read and watched Nick's remarks and don't buy that criticism at all. But two things do strike me. First, it's a very perfunctory speech. The only two personal ...
I have been alarmed to discover that today, a website to which I am an occasional contributor - National Collective - has been temporarily taken down after threatened legal action. National Collective is run by a number of artists and creative types who favour an independent Scotland. It is generally far more considered and temperate than many of the other expressions of pro-independence support. What it seems to have done to become the recipient of threats of litigation is to take information freely available in the public domain - most obviously in The Guardian and The Herald but also other ...
Two newsletters from Stockport Anchorpoint. The first is full of information on useful and free training events for anyone involved in a charity or community grouup, plus lots more information. The second gets down to business – where can you access funding grants from, and how do you apply.
A unique Makers Market will be held on Cheadle Green 11am-5pm on Monday 6th May 2013 (Bank Holiday Monday). Over 30 market stalls will line the pavements and the Cheadle Civic Society, who are organising the event, will be promoting their proposals to improve Cheadle Green. We think this will be a great event, promoting independent traders and well worth a visit.
At this week's Cheadle Area Committee, councillors considered proposals for a funding boost for local play areas. [IMG: Pam opening the new MUGA near Chestnut Avenue last year] Pam opening the new MUGA near Chestnut Avenue last year The money comes from developments – housing developers have to contribute money for local play provision. Among the proposals are: £19,000 for new junior play equipment and safer surfacing at Cheadle's Diamond Jubilee Recreation Ground £27,000 for continued improvement of toddler and young junior play areas at Bruntwood Park, including improved landscaping and safer surfacing in the toddler play area. £25,000 for ...
Tuesday In my day, if your son or, indeed, daughter was a bit on the slow side, it was necessary to slip the school a cheque to ensure good examination results. If the child was particularly dense then you might find yourself obliged to stump up for a whole swimming pool or chemistry laboratory. Things are handled more sympathetically in Wales. There, if you are dissatisfied with your children's examination results, you simply write to their education minster, one Leighton Andrews (whom I am sure I once met somewhere), and he awards them a higher grade.No money changes hands. It ...
Jon Worth has the story: Someone who was on the selection panel who seems to have selected... herself. And then deleted the tweets [with the evidence. As he recounts regarding Labour candidate Nicki Brooks: There were two tweets from @NickiBrooksx dated 16th February that seemed to show she had sat all day on the selection panel. I linked to those tweets here. I was also even decent enough to try to give Nicki a chance to reply, having tweeted this to her, also on 9th April. That tweet received no reply, nor to the tweet I wrote to Johanna Baxter ...
At this week's Cheadle Area Committee, councillors approved a 20mph limit for Park Road, Cheadle (that's the road running beside Jubilee Park, up to the Cheadle Town FC ground, not Park Road in Gatley). Local residents were surveyed and all of those who responded to the consultation were in favour of the move.
This is what we need trade unions for. The SERTUC branch of the TUC hosted a conference called "Young Disabled People- Employed and Empowered?". In an age where disabled people are being branded as 'scroungers' the youngest of these are suffering. The stats are depressing with 15% of young people with disabilities unemployed, out of education or not in training and 21 % aged 16-24 with no qualifications. The conference was a brilliant platform for an analysis of how disabled youngsters are coping in the current economic climate and it showed that the cuts and language used stigmatizes them to ...
I just saw this on Facebook, about a ward I used to work on (I didn't know it had been closed). And now I'm suffering from what feels very like post-traumatic stress. I used to work on this ward and one of the reasons I ended up quitting was because something like this was bound ...
My views are still a bit mixed on the whole Paris Brown affair. For those who are too busy having a life, Paris Brown was appointed last week as Kent's Youth Crime Commissioner....and has now been sacked for having a few offensive Tweets. Given this, what I have written below is a random set of thoughts rather than a coherent argument either way (Well the blog is THOUGHTS from Hull) J Do we need a Youth Commissioners in the first place? And if we do why not a BME Commissioner, old persons commissioner, LGBT commissioner etc?Is being 'offensive' on Twitter ...
Well, maybe not personal hypocrisy, but certainly Labour hypocrisy. Mr Miliband today told Parliament that Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher made "the wrong judgement about...sanctions in South Africa". As a kid in the 80s, I certainly thought that she had made the wrong judgement in opposing sanctions, with her attitude summed up in a comment about "not (being) in favour of trade sanctions partly because, even if fully effective, they would harm the people we are most concerned about - the Africans and those white South Africans who are having to maintain some standard of decency there." Except that comment wasn't ...
..but really I've just put this up because it's beautiful. A video map of London showing Oyster card touches in and out over the city during a single day. Quite something. H/T Oliver O'Brien
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 19th March 2013 and 8th April 2013. This is a catch up of things from the end of March and the beginning April 2013. Probably appears even more random than usual as I am posting it late and have been erratic in adding links. Look at the tracks of lost railway lines On the 50th anniversary of the Beeching Report a look at its impact on Bedfordshire. Why Monty Panesar should be the ...
Cyclists in Manchester are set to benefit from investment in safer roads, announced by Liberal Democrat Transport Minister, Norman Baker. This funding boost is part of £40m fund to improve dangerous routes and junctions and in Greater Manchester will provide 100 advanced stop lines and 50 trixi mirrors help prevent cyclist casualties. As well as this the Wimslow Road/Wilbraham Road junction will receive a £200k boost making it more cycle friendly. The money will be made available to improve the design and layout of roads at 78 locations across the country, with all schemes due for completion within the next ...
The new edition of Liberator magazine is being mailed to subscribers today. There is a summary of the contents on Liberal Democrat Voice. Not yet a subscriber? Subscribe here - you can opt for print and/or Kindle and iPad versions.
[IMG: michael-moore-mp-secretary-of-state-for-scotland] Michael Moore has been sharing his thoughts on the referendum on the US version of Huffington Post. He writes: Scotland is facing an historic decision in 2014: whether to remain as part of the United Kingdom or to leave and go it alone. Scotland's nationalist First Minister Alex Salmond is in America this week and will seek to persuade Americans that Scots want independence, that it is our destiny and that U.S. relations with Scotland will only improve should it happen. On all counts, I believe that this analysis is flawed. ... With huge challenges facing the global ...
We don't know the reason for the stroke that I had in 2011. It could be high blood pressure: my blood pressure is high, but not very high. Blood pressure is responsible for a third of strokes, and may be caused by excess dietary salt. I've been trying to reduce my salt intake, and I'm also taking Ramipril daily. My blood pressure has come down somewhat, but it's hard to get consistently
More savings have been found to increase the budgets of the Events & Campaigns. The £700 savings come primarily from cutting funding for lobbying, as well as social media advertising, which both Stace Williams & Steven Haynes argued was "ineffective". Money has also been found again for the Welsh & Scottish grants, totalling £500, despite ...
I've been invited through my work with the NO2ID campaign to speak at ORG Con North this Saturday. ORG Con North is a conference in Manchester hosted by the Open Rights Group, who are a campaign who protect our rights in the digital age. I'll be speaking on a panel entitled 'The Snoopers Charter: Can we stop it?'. Campaigning against surveillance without a court warrant and juridical oversight is a core part of my own liberal values, and something I am very passionate about. There is a preview of part of my talk and my with NO2ID up on Sound ...
Back at the end of January I received a number of letters about the emergency provision for rough sleepers in the town. I reported on it at the time. The letters were urging me to ensure that those sleeping in the open knew about the legislation which required that when the premature had fallen below a specified level for three consecutive night accommodation for them should be open. This is a pretty minimal requirement. I made further inquiries and it transpired that the situation was significantly worse than I had imagined. Firstly we should state that under the terms of ...
Meols Ward Lib Dem Councillors John Dodd, David Rimmer and Nigel Ashton are holding their next monthly advice centre on Saturday 13th April, 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.
[IMG: team2013] Team 2013 is the brand being used by the Lib Dem campaign for this year's local elections. A bright new website has been launched to encourage you to help the campaign, even if you don't have elections to fight in your own area. Tomorrow you can join in the National Phone Bank evening, making calls from your own home or local phone bank. Nick Clegg will be handing out pizza to all volunteers who turn up at party HQ for the London Calling event. There are further national actions days before polling day on 2nd May, plus ongoing ...
I suppose it makes a change from those ubiquitous high-visibility jackets, but I can't help thinking that old-fashioned tunics, helmets and boots would be more practical across rough country. Anyway, the Leicester Mercury wins our Headline of the Day award.
When attempted to use a meme for your cause it may be better if you check the appropriateness or not of that meme. The Yes for Scottish Independence campaign have produced this meme. Only problem is that in the Star Trek cannon Scotland is not an independent nation, indeed neither is the UK. Referring to Denise and Michael Okuda's chronology of Star Trek, indeed from 2079 Earth is united under one government in Star Trek lore. This is the United Earht, it is not like the UN at all, but all people are joined together under one big parliament, this ...
The refurbished Atkinson Library is now open to general acclaim-although some have commented on the number of books missing which may be a temporary situation. But one area that does concern me is that our local history section is missing. Apparently it is lodged elsewhere. Surely the right place for the archive of local Southport newspapers is in Southport Library According to wikipedia the ...'Old Southport newspapers now out of print are as follows: Independent 1861-1920s; Liverpool & Southport News 1861-1872; Southport News (West Lancs) 1881-1885; Southport Standard 1885-1899 Southport Guardian 1882-1953; Southport Journal 1904-1932 Southport Star; Southport Advertiser Now ...
Here's today's hand-picked selection that caught my interest... Russell Brand on Margaret Thatcher: 'I always felt sorry for her children' That Russell Brand article on Mrs T: saw a comment saying ignore the style admire the thinking. Other way round http://bit.ly/ZgwRh3 1979 Conservative Party Manifesto - 1979 Conservative Party Manifesto – really not as modest as it's sometimes made out to be http://bit.ly/17puZt5 Margaret Thatcher: Following the Iron Lady, 1975-90 | The Economist Margaret Thatcher: Following the Iron Lady, 1975-90 | The Economist front covers http://econ.st/16LkTBi Thatcher's education legacy | IOE London blog The IoE's Chris Husbands on Thatcher's radical ...
So much fuss over a manifesto... but, I have been referred to the Liberal Democrat manifesto for Suffolk. I can't post it in a way that does it justice via my BlackBerry, so I'll make sure to post it this evening when I get home...
As the debate in tribute to Baroness Thatcher begins in Parliament, Christine Odone looks at why the left hate powerful women. It has been noticeable that the most bile piled on the late Lady Thatcher has come from men, of a certain age and political persuasion. The problem of misogony goes deeper on the left ...
Here's the agenda for tomorrows planning meeting; 1. To receive apologies for absence and declaration of interest 2. To approve minutes of Planning Committee Meetings held on 14.02.13 3. Matters for discussion and decisions to be made from previous minutes 3.1 Farmhouse - update 3.2 The Willows - letter from Ginn & Co 4. Planning Applications 4.1 Proposed roadside services - Trinity Foot, Swavesey 4.2 La Salle Investment Management - Units 12, 13, 17 and 18 Trafalgar Way - new roof covering 5. Planning Decisions: There were no notifications of planning decisions for this meeting 6. Items for Information Public ...
This was my piece in the New Statesman yesterday. It appears to have turned into an Owen Jones love fest which wasn't really my intention, but hey, it's nice people are reading it and commenting. It's also currently the second most read thing on The Staggers. so much for the Mrs T media frenzy... "I think Owen Jones has more influence on politics nowadays than any other Labour frontbencher. He's everywhere".So tweeted Iain Dale the other day in a conspicuously non-partisan piece of commentary. Now, Iain was referring to the ubiquity of Owen and his ability to pop up anywhere, ...
Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill – Lords Amendment 37 Ping Pong stage, April 16, 2013 On March 4, the House of Lords voted by a majority of 103 for a cross-party amendment to make caste a protected characteristic under equality law (via a New Clause in the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill). This is a conscience matter and I hope all LibDem MPs will support the Lords' New Clause, as part of our commitment to the principles of liberalism. Peers were persuaded by a report commissioned by the Government during the passage of the Equality Act 2010. It confirms that ...
David Cameron plans to make Whitehall smaller, more accountable and more professional. In the fifth of our series, Jill Rutter asks what this will mean for its use of expert advice Good policy needs the right blend of the technocratic and the political. Ministers should want to know a policy is technically feasible, has a reasonable chance of working, and is the best available option; but a policy must also be able to command sufficient political and public support to be implemented. That is not the only dichotomy within Whitehall. Not all issues are equal. There will be some issues ...
The Liberal Party Constitution commits us to' ... create the positive conditions which will make a full and free life possible for all' . The last two words establish an unbridgeable gulf between us and the Thatcher approach. David Steel 1985 A journalist reporting the death of Thatcher tonight said that he learned the news whilst following Clegg on a campaign tour of Cornwall and reflected that Thatcher had a profound impact on our party.Writing in 1985 David Steel set himself the task of '...........presenting a constructive alternative to Thatcherism and ....'winning the intellectual argument against the new Conservatism.' . ...
I am still fearfully behind with Ros's contributions, and here's one from 15 February last year... As part of Ros's Industry and Parliament Trust Fellowship on Media, she has discovered much about how our television companies operate, and discovering that the BBC pay Sky to broadcast their programmes, she was moved to wonder why this should be... Baroness Scott of Needham Market (Liberal Democrat) To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have plans, as part of consultations on the draft Communications Bill or otherwise, to review the "must offer" obligation and the level of payment required from the BBC to ...
After an extraordinarily brutal last few days, 17 year old Youth Police Commissioner Paris Brown resigned from her post at Kent Police. In her resignation statement, she said that she was 'quitting in the interests of the young people of Kent' after supposed racist and homophobic tweets dating back a number of years had been found by Daily Mail journalists and ran with by several other major news organisations. There is no doubting that the tweets themselves were offensive. At no point is it acceptable to engage in homophobic or racist behaviour and the comments should not be made by ...
The BBC report that the ordination of women priests as bishops is back on the agenda at a two-day meeting of the Church in Wales' governing body, five years after a move was narrowly defeated by three votes. They say that the Church aims to draft a new bill to be put to a vote in September. However, even if the bill is backed, the Church says it would not be brought into force until pastoral provision had been put in place for those opposed to women bishops: "It is now five years since the last time the governing body ...
My good friend Documentally has written up his thoughts on the future of AudioBoo. Here is my reply, appropriately enough, in audio format. MP3 AudioBoo Future Ogg AudioBoo Future.ogg You may be interested in my other posts on the subject - Preparing for the Collapse of Digital Civilization and I Don't Want To Be Part of Your Fucking Ecosystem (So, yes, still trying to find a decent WordPress plugin which will take multiple files and display only one player. Also need to find a less manual way of uploading and converting. Hey, it's not bad for 10 minutes work, ok!) ...
I thought on the day that is timetabled as the end of the world and the day Kim-Jung Un orders his men to march south, that I'd write a small piece on why David Cameron was wrong about Trident being a good thing going into this possible conflict and why ultimately it doesn't make any difference. Nuclear weaponry is something that the world wishes it could un-invent. One of the reasons the Allies pushed to coming up with an atomic bomb was just to act as a deterrent to the Axis powers having them and maybe starting the cold war ...
Launching the manifesto, Cllr Stephen Giles-Medhurst (Central Watford and Oxhey), Leader of the Opposition on Hertfordshire County Council said: "Our top six to fix priorities for Hertfordshire County Council are: Investing budget surpluses into improved highway maintenance and repair, better bus services and cross-county connections reducing traffic speeds in residential areas more crossing patrols and safety on the way to school cutting waste and spin at County Hall allowing local flexibility over street lighting, so it can be switched back on in areas that need it "Hertfordshire County Council Liberal Democrats called for a Council Tax freeze this year, and ...
Plaid Cymru's Treasury Spokesperson, Jonathan Edwards makes some remarkably good points in today's Western Mail regarding Labour's hypocrisy on tax and benefit issues. He says: "The previous Labour Government held it at only 40% right until a month before it left office. That's right, the top rate of tax for the highest earners was even less than it is now. "Following the Budget debate of 2012, a vote was held in the House of Commons on the specific tax cut for millionaires. It was called by the Plaid Cymru/SNP/Green group - and the Labour Party incredibly abstained. "Furthermore, Labour have ...
21 Tips to Keep Your Shit Together When You're Depressed. If you have ever suffered from depression, or if you have ever dealt with someone who has, you NEED to read this. And then read it again. (tags: ) Budge: Facing up to Facebook scams Another reason I'm glad I deleted my facebook account (tags: ) Magical Fruit Trees and the Sale of Digital Music (tags: ) Wearable Video Cameras, for Police Officers - NYTimes.com 88% reduction in complaints for police violence when the police wear cameras... (tags: ) Nevermind the £53 p/w. How would IDS cope with the system? ...
In Britain, where people are divided by their background and social class more than any other country it can be argued, an apparent issue at the forefront of society remains, does private education breed social tension? Do children who are able to have a private education separate themselves from society and from those who attend ...
I've had an amusing exchange with Colin Noble, one of the leading Tories on the County Council, and partner of Lisa, about manifestos. I've always had a love hate relationship with manifestos - they're a lovely thing if you have time to write one, but the Party centrally does spend time drawing up a stack of policy, so I'd rather see the time spent campaigning rather than drafting a manifesto which four people will read and forty deliberately misinterpret. So, the absence of a manifesto wouldn't particularly bother me - after all, putting out a leaflet that says what I ...
There are reports that at football matches at the weekend there is to be a minutes silence to remember Margaret Thatcher. This strikes me as a strange and somewhat foolhardy move. Strange because I do not recall any such thing being done for Wilson or Callaghan or Heath or Macmillan (all former PMs who have died within my living memory). Foolhardy because Thatcher was such a polarising figure that although there will doubtless be a fair few in each crowd who liked her and are happy to pay their respects there will also be a significant number who do not ...
Yesterday I participated in a consultation event organised by Bristol City Council. it was designed to start a debate locally about the revision of social housing allocations policy. My talk, which ranged rather more broadly than simply allocations policy, is a bit too long to include in a blog post, so I have bunged it on to Scribd. It can be accessed below. Who is Social Housing for? [IMG: Share]
I thought it was worth putting together a summary of the problems in the family division. Some of these problems also occur in other areas of the judiciary, but they are commonplace in the family division. The underlying problem is evidence. Because much of the evidence is opinion unreliable opinion from "experts" gives rise to unreliable conclusions. Professor Jane Ireland's report which is
Cycle Training – Not Just for Kids It's FREE It's Built Around YOU It's BETTER by cycle There's no need to be worried about getting back on your bike or trying something new with our free cycle training courses for adults*. Qualified instructors will be more than happy to help you find your cycling legs. There's no problem with being a novice** either, our instructors can help improve your skills while you learn to control your bike – with sessions starting in a traffic free space if need be. How does it work? Once you've registered your details, one of ...
This Salvation Army Choir will be on tour in United Kingdom and in concert here on Wednesday 5th June 2013 at 7.00p.m. Tickets are available from The Empire Theatre, Consett.
[IMG: ukip-poster-manchester] Much has been made of the rise of the United Kingdom Independence Party under Nigel Farage. Watch any of Mr Farage's rabble rousing appearances on Question Time and one might feel that here is a man who speaks common sense. A man on your side – a party ready to change the three party system in this country. Delve a bit deeper into UKIP and you'll see a slightly sinister side more akin to the Far Right. It was only 3 years ago that, at the invitation of Lord Pearson (then UKIP Leader), the Dutch Far Right politician ...
For well over a year, councillors have struggled with the issue of increased parking along St Ann's Road North – mainly people from Cheadle Royal Business Park who want to make a quick get-away in the evening. The problem we've had is simple: they are parking on the road legally, and putting down yellow lines to stop them would simply push cars to the other side of the road (in front of the houses) and down the side roads – moving the problem, rather than solving it. The Council's spoken to the business park owners (Muse) and the businesses, but ...
"The Saxon is not like us Normans. His manners are not so polite. But he never means anything serious till he talks about justice and right. When he stands like an ox in the furrow - with his sullen set eyes on your own, And grumbles, 'This isn't fair dealing', my son, leave the Saxon alone." That is the start of the Kipling poem which Margaret Thatcher took with her to her first European summit, where she had resolved to batter the other European nations into giving Britain a rebate. It shows just how much she was aware of herself ...
After an awful lot of thinking over the past few months, I have decided to stop being a local councillor. After ten years of the privilege of representing the people of Prudhoe West on Tynedale then Northumberland Councils, I just can't continue to give my personal and professional life less than 100% of my attention. I have recently accepted a job as the Chief Executive of a new Citizens Advice Bureau in County Durham that will do the work of 4 bureau that are merging to form Greater Durham CAB. It's a massively exciting task and it will need all ...
Last night at the West End Community Council meeting, there was an interesting presentation by Pat Greenhough of the Volunteer Centre Dundee about the work she is doing to promote services for older people in the West End and in other parts of Dundee. Pat is looking to set up a West End older persons' steering group and if anyone locally is interested in taking part, they can contact her at the Volunteer Centre at info@volunteerdundee.org.uk or by phoning 305705.
Wed 10th
08:38
Councillors voice concern over Abney Care Home - six planning applications at committee
Cheadle Area Committee considered six planning applications last night (which probably explains why we didn't finish until nearly 10pm). Thank you to everyone who came along – mostly for the Care UK proposals for an 80 bed care home in Abney Hall Park. In addition to 25 letters of objection received by the Council, a petition signed by 58 people was handed in by Jean Goulden from the Friends of Abney Hall Park. [IMG: Abney Court office block proposed for demolition] Abney Court office block proposed for demolition The decision on the care home proposal (planning application 51715) will be ...
There is an independent candidate in Morecambe South who happens to be a member of the Morecambe Bay Independent Party. There are other candidates in Morecambe in a similar position. I don't suppose it is a big deal for their party members to stand as an independent as long as they are not standing against other members of their own party. So the party must have cleared these individuals to stand. Interestingly there are no county divisions in Morecambe in which an independent is standing against an independent which makes me think that they are not as independent as they ...
Not something you read every day: [IMG: Francois Hollande's Camel Eaten By Family In Timbuktu, Mali(1)] You can read the full story about the camel here.
Margaret Thatcher had stopped being "Margaret Thatcher" a long time ago. Most of her confidantes suggest that the death of her husband Denis was a blow that left her shattered and from which she never recovered. In a way, of course such loyalty and love was only to be expected in a woman who embodied so many of the virtues and the vices of a suburban house wife. She had suffered increasingly from poor health after a series of strokes and it was a more or less open secret that "her mental powers were not what they were": she had ...
This Monday's edition of the Sun included a bizarre 'exclusive' claiming that North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un performed in a school production of the musical 'Grease' while at a Swiss boarding school in the 1990s. As you would expect from the Sun, the story was accompanied by some dreadful puns ("You're the Jong that I want", "Tell me war, tell me war", "Hopelessly devoted to nukes"). Sadly, it turns out to be untrue. The Washington Post has debunked the story, suggesting that the Sun's photos are probably of the dictator's older brother Kim Jong-chul. Kim Jong-chul was at one time ...
Wed 10th
06:45
Paris Brown. A truly sad tale. Not her twitter 'rants' but the Daily Mail's disgusting attacks.
Paris Brown is a 17 year-old girl. She's no angel but name me a 17 year-old girl (or boy) who is. She had written some tweets in her time that possibly looking back on she regrets. However I wonder how I'd have been at that age with the ability to leave my thoughts on a website for everyone to easily see. Luckily in a way Twitter, Facebook and social media didn't really take off until I was well into my 20s and I was old enough (and wise enough) to always think twice before posting anything. I think to myself ...
I live in the city of DundeeThat sits by the Silvery TayAnd high above majesticallyStands the beautiful Hill of Balgay The ancient trees tall and proudAbundant with nuts and foliageHide squirrels, birds, foxes,And lots of creepy crawlies. In winter when the snow blowsThe Spruce and Pine still thereWith coats of green protectingThe hill which is so bare.The holly and the Aster dotted in betweenRed berries dripping, dangling in the green. The evening dew falls softlyBut there's no need to hurryJust keep on meandering to the Mills ObservatoryInside the wonders to beholdAre there for all to seeThere's not another like itIn ...
Acres of newsprint, hours of broadcast time and unimaginable amounts of online words have already been devoted to the controversial legacy of Margaret Thatcher, who died yesterday aged 87. So much so that I feel ...
