CANAL RESTORATION OPEN DAY The Wendover Arm Trust, in association with St Mary the Virgin, Drayton Beauchamp, invites you to spend some time with them learning about the Wendover Arm Canal Restoration Project. Take a Guided Tour of the Canal Restoration Site Watch the Volunteers Hard at Work Admire the Beautiful Chilterns Scenery Bring a Picnic Enjoy the Teas and Cakes for Sale And Restored Yourself by a Day Out in the Fresh Air SUNDAY 2ND JUNE 12.30-4pm Free Admission, Donations Welcome. Car parking at St Mary's Church Full details available from www.wendoverarmtrust.co.uk or 07547 181857
The Daily Telegraph wins my Headline of the Day Award - paywall or no paywall - and quite possibly my Headline of the Year Award too.
Welcome to Broxtowe Enews, brought to you by the Liberal Democrats and edited by David Watts, the leader of the Lib-Dems on Broxtowe Borough Council. 1. Bramcote Hills Care Home An application to extend Bramcote Hills Care Home by extending it to include the two houses next to it was defeated at the Development Control Committee at Broxtowe Borough Council on Wednesday. Both myself and my colleague Stan Heptinstall spoke against the application, drawing attention to the parking problems that already exist and would be made worse by the extension and also he dominating impact on the street scene that ...
Hi there I have decided to take a short career break as the company I was working for was 'not for me' and I needed to make a hard decision as to whether or not the job came first, or home life and job satisfaction was paramount. I obviously decided that the later, rather than ...
Sun 19th
21:04
Andrew McFarland Campbell's Very Short Guide to Debunking The Six Traditional Clobber Passages
There are six passages traditionally used to say you can't be gay and Christian: Genesis 19, Leviticus 18:22, Leviticus 20:13, Romans 1, 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, and 1 Timothy 1:9-10. Genesis 19 is about gang rape. Anyone who says this has anything to say about consensual relationships has bigger problems than Biblical interpretation. Leviticus is part [...]
I wanted to focus my PhD upon UKIP, or the Liberal Democrats... I wasn't too sure at the time. When I suggested UKIP to my PhD supervisor he immediately told me not to bother, as they're going nowhere fast. Despite his suggestion, I tried to explain that they're growing in popularity, and asked him how he can possibly say that there cannot be a fourth party in our 2.5 party system (oh so naïve before the failed AV referendum; "bah" to first-past-the-post)? He explained his views, and quite sensibly, I focused my project upon my favourite party; the Liberal Democrats. ...
In October last year, a skydiver called Felix Baumgartner leapt out of a helium ballon and did a 4 minute 20 second freefall through space, before parachuting to Earth. In a genius marketing ploy, indoor skydiving company Airkix offered the equivalent amount of time in one of their windtunnels for £42. (I don't recall seeing a reference to the life, the universe and everything in the publicity - either I missed it, or they missed a trick. Anyway.) Yesterday, I finally got round to cashing in my voucher for some flight time, and it was truly amazing :D they broke ...
My article in the Huffington Post: Recently, work took me to Istanbul to meet with the Syrian resistance. We discussed options for the international community to help bring an end to the Syrian war, by destroying the financial networks that enable the Assad regime to purchase weapons and finance assaults against civilians.
Sun 19th
20:13
Break the NHS up into little pieces, but don't give it to your friends... They'd probably prefer sha...
According to the mock advert below, Mr Cameron loves the NHS so much that he wants to cut it up into little pieces and give it to his friends. I eagerly await this day, however, I do feel a bit sorry for his friends, as they're going to get a bit of a crappy gift. Personally, I'd prefer a Mulberry handbag, or even a tax break (hint, hint if you're reading Mr PM)... As I sit here typing away, my tongue wanders to the hole in my smile line where I once had a nice, white shiney tooth. It fell ...
From the Sunday Mirror: [IMG: UKIP logo] Ukip's Chris Pain, leader of the opposition at Lincs Council and the party's East Midlands regional chairman, wrote: "Have you noticed that if you rearrange the letters in 'illegal immigrants', and add just a few more letters, it spells, 'Go home you free-loading, benefit-grabbing, resource-sucking, baby-making, non-English-speaking ********* and take those other hairy-faced, sandal-wearing, bomb-making, camel-riding, goat-********, raghead ******** with you.'"... Peter Entwistle, party chairman in Bury, Greater Manchester, labelled President Barack Obama a Muslim, writing: "I bet he's a closet 'Imam' as well! "If I ever see him on a Greyhound bus ...
Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 326th weekly round-up from the Lib Dem blogosphere ... Featuring the seven most popular stories beyond Lib Dem Voice according to click-throughs from the Aggregator (12-18 May, 2013), together with a hand-picked quintet, normally courtesy of LibDig, you might otherwise have missed. Don't forget: you can sign up to receive the Golden Dozen direct to your email inbox — just click here — ensuring you never miss out on the best of Lib Dem blogging. As ever, let's start with the most popular post, and work our way down: 1. UKIP's new councillors: ...
Some time ago I asked a Recycling Officer at the Council what happened to plastic bottles that are left around a recycling skip as opposed to being in it. The question was posed because of overflowing skips that were too small. [IMG: rsz_photo0217] The answer was that plastic bottles not in the skip went to landfill and I recall this gained some publicity at the time as the Council was under pressure to increase the size/number of its skips. Now the skip I use in Maghull's Morrisons car park is of a decent size and I have yet to encounter ...
I love polls. And I love the study of psephology - try saying that just after you have had your wisdom teeth out! Most of all I love the detail revealed in the full tables of data behind the polls - the trends, the regional variations and the balance across age groups. It is with this interest that I read the latest Panelbase Poll on Scotland and Scottish Independence. It shows the following: 44% No, 36% Yes, 20% Don't know. (sample 1004, survey May 10-16) Interestingly IPSOS Mori showed: 59 % No, 31% Yes, 10% Don't know (sample 1001, survey ...
Another year - another OpenTech! See blog posts from 2010 and 2011. It feels like every year the event gets bigger and better. It's still the same crowd of politically aware techies, and it still costs a ridiculously cheap fiver to come along, and the talks were of an abnormally high quality. Here are my thoughts from the day. Farmification Of Factories Fascinating talk from Lisa Ma about living and working with workers in a Chinese joystick factory. Raises interesting questions about how we treat workers in terms of resources, and whether urbanisation is seen as a universally good thing ...
Many politicians hold genuine and deeply-held views in opposition to the coalition government's reform of housing benefit. There is no doubt changes that will reduce entitlement for those who have a spare bedroom are controversial and will initially cause problems for many people. That is why the government has put in place additional funds for Discretionary Housing Payments and have altered a number of the regulations to ease specific issues. It is my view that more needs to be done, but that is not the point of this post. The position of the Labour Party on this issue has been ...
A new planning application has been received within Holyrood Ward as detailed below:- Application number: 56298 Type of application: Full Date Registered: 13/05/2013 Location: 127 Heys Road, Prestwich, Manchester, M25 1QB Proposal: Single storey extension at side/rear Plans will be available to view on the Council's website here (use the planning application number to search). Any questions or if I can help please just get in touch. Tim
More sordid details of UKIP councillors have come to light. Following the resignation of "race-ranter" Eric Kitson from Worcestershire County Council, today's Sunday Mirror has unearthed more racist rants on Facebook. The Mirror reports several nasty outbursts but pride of place must go to Chris Pain, UKIP leader of the opposition on Lincolnshire County Council and the party's East Midlands regional chairman. He wrote: "Have you noticed that if you rearrange the letters in 'illegal immigrants', and add just a few more letters, it spells, 'Go home you free-loading, benefit-grabbing, resource-sucking, baby-making, non-English-speaking ********* and take those other hairy-faced, sandal-wearing, ...
When Cabe, now part of the Design Council, first published their latest Design Review for Brentford Waterside, Hounslow on 14 February 2013 local residents were hopeful that this once respected body would urge Ballymore and their architects to radically reconsider the density and architectural aesthetic of their scheme. Instead residents, including many town planning and architecture professionals, were astounded by a majority of Cabe's conclusions. Our investigations since have not lessened our concerns. Instead they highlight the urgent need for close scrutiny of the way Cabe undertakes future Design Reviews if they are to ever live up to their own ...
TEMPORARY CLOSING OF Selby Avenue, St Albans during a 'Big Lunch Street Party' NOTICE is given that the Hertfordshire County Council intend to make an Order under Section 16(A) of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, to prohibit all traffic from using that length of Selby Avenue, St Albans from its junction with Britton Avenue northwards to its junction with Upton Avenue, a distance of approximately 97 metres, except for access. The length of road will be closed between the hours of 11.00am and 5.00pm on Sunday 2 June 2013, when signs are in place. An alternative signed route will ...
Make a pot of tea because you are about to read a long essay. It is a very good essay by Paul Krugman, explaining why the orthodoxy of austerity, adopted throughout Europe and North America in 2010, is profoundly wrong: Three years after the turn to austerity, then, both the hopes and the fears of the austerians appear to have been misplaced. Austerity did not lead to a surge in confidence; deficits did not lead to crisis. But wasn't the austerity movement grounded in serious economic research? Actually, it turned out that it wasn't—the research the austerians cited was deeply ...
Often when I am giving a speech or attending an event, a young man or woman will sidle up to me and thank me shyly for having got equal marriage legislation put before Parliament, telling me just how much it means to him or her. The stories of how much it matters to them, their loved ones and their families often makes me cry. The symbolism of marriage for them is so important - and changing the rules to let people of the same gender who love each other get married is also an important way of showing that as ...
I see Tony Blair is intending to be one of my successors as an advisor to the next government of Albania. I was previously unaware of his interest in the land of the Eagle. So -it seems- was he, until somebody offered him money After I was approached to advise the Albanian government 10 years ago, I met with Prime Minister Berisha several times and also the then President Mosiu. I tried to give the government the benefit of my experience and my knowledge as an investment banker active in the region. With over twenty years being involved in the ...
Sun 19th
15:25
LibLink: Tim Bale - "The biggest effect of the Lib Dems holding their nerve has been to help the Con...
[IMG: tim bale] Tim Bale is professor of politics at Queen Mary, University of London, an an historian of the Conservative party. And this week, to mark the third anniversary of the formation of the Coalition, he's turned his attention to the Lib Dems. The article begins by dissecting that 'Jekyll and Hyde' verb — compromise — to highlight the problems posed by the Coalition for both its parties: 'Used actively, it's a good thing - you want something; I want something different; we talk it over; we come to an arrangement; we compromise. Used passively, it comes over all ...
More comedy genius from Australia's Clarke and Dawe: Also on YouTube.
Here's today's hand-picked selection that caught my interest... How the PCC resolved a complaint about a story The Sun couldn't prove | Media | guardian.co.uk The Chris Huhne story The Sun invented and the Mirror and Metro then copied http://bit.ly/19Ox6F9 Tim Harford — Article — The antisocial network? We feel happier when we update FB even if no-one responds, apparently » The antisocial network? http://bit.ly/16yzWBR Cameron says "renegotiation", Conservative MPs hear "exit" Cameron says "renegotiation", Conservative MPs hear "exit" – @rafaelbehr » http://bit.ly/12Ld7Vw < why Cam won't be Tory leader after 2015 It's not 'only banter', it is a threat ...
Sun 19th
13:15The Sun story about Chris Huhne that was a total invention (and which the other papers happily copie...
Remember that front page Sun story from 13 March? On the off-chance Voice readers missed this exclusive, let's refersh your memory of the splash: Disgraced MP Chris Huhne was ridiculed on his first day in Wandsworth jail yesterday — after a warder called him to breakfast by yelling "Order! Order!" Only one small problem with the story: it was a complete fabrication. [IMG: sun huhne lie] The Guardian's Roy Greenslade has the story: According to the article, "the mocking warden" mimicked the commons speaker by saying: "The right honourable member for Wandsworth North — down to the office." It also ...
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the longest running science fiction show in the world I am taking a weekly look at some of my favourite Dr Who episodes focusing on one Doctor a month. This month it's the fifth Doctors turn. The Doctor Tegan and Turlough are dragged through a time corridor to a deserted London Docklands where the police are mysteriously killing bedraggled humans. Meanwhile the army is also there looking for un-exploded bombs. why has the Doctor been dragged to London and what is the link between the time corridor and the vicious policemen outside? All will ...
Years ago, I interviewed the former economics adviser to the Jersey government for the New Statesman, and he explained to me how the island's tax haven status had been like a cuckoo in the nest. Financial services are so profitable (and I might add, so safe - you can get bailed out) that other forms of enterprise become economic. First the agriculture runs down, then the tourism, then - with over 500 banks on the island - nobody else can afford a home. It is the same process that is happening, much more slowly, in London. But there was a ...
Church of St Mary the Virgin, Burham A beautiful church that dates back to the 11th Century tucked in a horseshoe bend of the River Medway. www.visitchurches.org.uk Kent Wildlife Trust's Burham Marsh tidal reedbed nature Water meadow and heron. Industrial landscape, across the river. The footpath along the embankment. Stone on the river bank commemorating the Battle of Medway in AD 43. Canada geese fly past. For more information on the Medway Gap visit the links below: http://www.valleyofvisions.org.uk/index.php (For larger image click on photos)
It's Pentecost, so today's Sunday Sounds are on fire* First, Kasabian, with Fire: and now, Kings of Leon with Sex on Fire, which I have posted before - no apologies for reposting, though!: Andrew *Acts 2 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. [NIV]
I was away this weekend joining in the celebrations of friends birthday. We were staying in Chipping Camden. Around lunchtime wandering around the town we came upon the village parish church of St James and, as is my habit, I went inside to look around. It is one of the finest wool churches in the country. The church was the venue of the Chipping Camden Music Festival and was laid out ready for a concert with a Steinway Grand Piano alone on the stage in front of the chancel. I sat down for a moment and a young lady came ...
IBB,(Group Leader) Ronnie and Joyce Fearn I posted recently about Ronnie reaching 50 years service as a Liberal/LD councillor Last night we held a celebration at Auberge Brasserie in Southport The picture shows Ronnie and Joyce having received a cut glass rose bowl in recognition of his service. Ronnie joined the Southport County Borough Council at a time when there were 23 Liberals out of 45 members. He went on to serve as Leader of the Group, MP and is now in the House of Lords. By any measure he is the most successful Southport politician of his generation. ...
Liberal Democrats including Alistair Carmichael (ok, so he lives there), Willie Rennie, David Steel and Nick Clegg have headed to Orkney this weekend to celebrate 100 years since the birth of Jo Grimond, the man credited with building up the Liberal Party after is demise. David Steel gave a lecture in the Firth Church at Finnstown and Nick Clegg spoke at a dinner last night. Steel's lecture, outlining Grimond's crashes through our normal word limit, but I think it's worth reading the whole thing to get an insight into the history of the Liberal Party and into both Grimond's and ...
Lord Huron, says Wikipeida, are an American indie folk band based in Los Angeles. Their debut album, Lonesome Dreams, was released in 2012 and this is the opening track being performed at a Seattle radio station. I like the guitars entwining with the Eastern percussion.
Frankly I prefer them to the establishment freeloaders, who've complacently accepted the erosion of British sovereignty, by the EU. The reference to swivel eyed loons of course is purposely offensive and calculated to stigmatise, undermining reasonable argument. I can recall a time when I like most in Britain was sold on a common market, which was as far as I can recall was the term used to describe the early EU, which back in the day seemed an almost benign harmless organisation, with minimal corruption, the only glaring outrage at that time was the lunatic arrangement the French insisted on, ...
No prizes for guessing which subject Nick Clegg tackles in his latest weekly letter to supporters: Europe. He rattles through the three positions: 'calamitous outers', 'inconsequential renegotiators' and 'achievable reformers'. No prizes for guessing which he identifies with the Lib Dems. Over to Nick... [IMG: libdem letter from nick clegg] I'm writing this week's Letter to you from Kirkwall in Orkney. Alistair Carmichael and Jim Wallace have been trying to persuade me to make the trip for a while and I've finally made it in order to join the celebrations of the centenary of Jo Grimond's birth. The big debate ...
You can always count on Lord Mandelson for a quote, and so it was this morning. The noble Lord referred to Nigel Farage's rag-tag band as the "UK Isolation Party", and accused Eurosceptic Conservative MPs like Joh Redwood of being "fellow travellers", and the "provisional wing" of the Conservatives. It was a typically stirring Mandelson ...
Dear Chris, I'm writing this week's Letter to you from Kirkwall in Orkney. Alistair Carmichael and Jim Wallace [IMG: Nick_Clegg_signature.png] Nick
Membership of UK political parties - Commons Library Standard Note - UK Parliament Fascinating PDF with lots of tables. (tags: ) To encourage creativity, Mr Gove, you must first understand what it is | Ken Robinson | Comment is free | The Guardian This is something Govey needs to understand. He never will though. (tags: ) Vince Cable on dancing, romance and raw jelly <3 Lovely Vince (tags: ) Where are they now? Five female faces who disappeared from our screens | Society | guardian.co.uk (tags: ) BBC News - Contactless 'charging errors' at Marks and Spencer I am quite ...
Let's take a look at this weekend's YouGov poll which has a number of questions on same-sex marriage. I think it will make sad reading for those desperately trying to make same-sex marriage into a storm to bring down David Cameron. The first question was "Which of the following issues will be important to you in deciding how you vote at the next election? Please tick up to three or four" Out of 17 options same-sex marriage came 12th (beating out "Other", "None of these" and "Animal Rights") in terms of importance in influencing votes and got only 7% overall ...
[IMG: Wedding rings. Photo courtesy of http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1384052. Some rights reserved] From today's polling: Public supports same-sex marriage; The public thinks more positively of David Cameron because of his support for it; and Of those who say it will be an important issue in deciding how they vote at the next general election, those who say they will be more likely to support a party that backs same-sex marriage outnumber those who say it makes them less likely to vote for such a party. So: the public support it, the public thinks better of your leader because of it and people ...
Vince Cable has been talking to the Telegraph about his varied and interesting life. From meeting his first wife while both were working in a mental hospital in York, to their romance meeting parental disapproval and succeeding despite that, to his empathy with his constituents' problems, it charts the key moments of his first 70 years. Illustrated with photographs of items which mean a lot to him, including a recording of his son Paul performing at a concert in Prague. HE also confesses a liking for James Blunt. As former MP's caseworker, I completely understood what he said about how ...
One of the most annoying criticisms one receives as a gay liberal is that, in some bizarre way, I must thus be some Muslim fanboy who wouldn't dare criticism Islam because obviously everyone politically to the left of Nigel Farage must be in kahoots with fundamentalist Muslims! "Oh you criticise us Christians but you'd never dare criticise a Muslim!" is the commonest formulation of this argument (usually used by UKIPpers who, on this issue, are ironically allied with Muslims!). The main reason I spend less time moaning about Islam than I do Christianity is that we live in a Christian ...
From the Curator of Museum Services at the University of Dundee: The next special event at the D'Arcy Thompson Zoology Museum is one of the annual highlights of our programme, now in its fifth year. On Tuesday 21 May at 6pm we present Notes from the Museum, an evening of poetry and prose inspired by our amazing collections and the extraordinary life and work of D'Arcy Thompson. All of the work is written and performed by students on the Creative Writing MLitt and undergraduate courses in the School of Humanities, University of Dundee. The event will be chaired by tutor ...
Next Saturday - 25th May - will see a Dawn Chorus event at Riverside Nature Park, organised by the Dundee Countryside Rangers. Starting at 4am (yes - 4am!), more details are available from the Countryside Rangers on 431848.
The big debate this week in British politics, which featured strongly in PMQs – where I was standing in for the PM – has obviously been about our future role in Europe. An issue on which Jo Grimond was a pioneer and leader. What's emerging in this debate is that there are three basic positions. The first is UKIP's and an increasingly large number of Conservatives' – they want to leave now. I am clear that would be a calamitous mistake for the country – it would make us poorer, make us less safe and jeopardise millions of jobs and ...
When is a separate state not a separate state? Apparently, when it is proposed by the SNP. A leading luminary of the party, Andrew Wilson, is making the case that because British identity- a more or less positive thing in his view- comprises more than the political ties between the nations of the UK, that identity would survive the end of the common state. For me this is the central dichotomy in the argument for separatism: for many, if not most, Nationalists, the belief in self determination stops short of a situation where border posts are erected at Berwick. At ...
