[IMG: Ley y Orden] We love detective show "Castle" in our house. Whenever we have a spare hour we say: Let's watch a Castle. Interestingly, the show absolutely works despite being ludicrously improbable in a number of ways: 1. There is no way NYPD would tolerate a novelist following around one of their detectives on over one hundred investigations. It is just a crazy idea. 2. There is no way NYPD would allow two people having an affair to work together. 3. It seems rather unlikely that a...ahem....portly gentleman would win a highly intelligent and beautiful woman such as Kate ...
[IMG: Think] Senior editor with the Oxford English Dictionary, Fiona McPherson has written an excellent blog on the current furore about the use of the word "literally". She notes that the usage of the word as a term of exaggeration, rather than actually meaning "really" goes back as far as 1769: Whatever the reasons, it is clear that people often have strong opinions about "new" senses of words. Perhaps the question is not so much why do people have a problem with literally but rather why do lexicographers not have a problem? It comes down to that oft-spoke mantra - ...
An interesting read, produced after a four year study in Greater Manchester, this looks at how our environment has changed over the last 150 years. Though not specific to Cheadle & Gatley, it does reference Stockport in quite a few places. Well worth a look for anyone with an interest in history.
Our Special Focus for August 2013 looks at the growing crisis in local services. Click here to read it. Ludlow's new hospital is in doubt. There is a budget shortfall of more than £1 million and the project may be cancelled. The Shropshire Clinical Commissioning Group is holding an extraordinary Broad meeting at 9am on [...]
I mistakenly reblogged a story earlier today that is untrue. I apologise to the owners and landlords of The Globe in Leicester. Filed under: Uncategorized
Sat 17th
16:17
Whilst Our Opponents Moaned About Hypotheticals, Their Kin Were Banning Free Speech In Schools
Remember during the same-sex marriage debates how often the plight of teachers being stopped from saying what they believed was brought up? Oh it was going to be awful, teachers would be sacked, lives would be ruined. Meanwhile... three schools have been found to be operating policies that use similar language to the much loathed Section 28. I've said it over and over... whilst those who want to oppress others campaign for their own freedom from imaginary enemies, LGBT friendly teachers have been put under threat of the sack in Catholic schools and we have schools introducing bans on "promoting ...
LibDemVoice has two parallel sites. The first is our public blog, the thing you're reading now. The second is our private members' forum, which only current Lib Dem members can access. If you're a member and want to chat with fellow party members about any issue that's on your mind, then why not sign up? In addition, you'll be included in our regular surveys' of party members' views. Here's some of the most active discussions this past 7 days: Fracking; This should be Nick Clegg's moment; Is this an achievement?; Things that cheer you up; Is this why we are ...
We have been contacted by residents in relation to the works currently being carried about for Affinity which are causing you some considerable disruption. They have apologised about the late working during last week: We had an instance on Monday night where the operatives worked till 11pm in order to finish a section of works so that we could backfill and reinstate by tomorrow We have no intention of working so late again but the nature of our works sometimes calls for it. In the subsequent phone call they also assured me that their normal working hours would now be ...
Sometimes you just have to laugh at what goes on in Northern Irish politics. With all the furore about our First Minister's letter regarding the proposal for a Peace and Reconciliation centre at the site of the former HM Prison Maze, Professor Billy McWilliams' blogpost on 1690 and all that is really rather fun. There [...]
Latest News from the Cricklewood Improvement Programme includes: Silk Road Festival: 1st-7th September 2013 in Cricklewood - a week long programme of cultural events You are all welcome. Bring the sunshine with you! CIP are looking for help with leafletting of this event. They will be hitting the streets the second last week in August and many hands make light work. So, any offers of help will be gratefully received. Email info@cricklewood.net if you'd like to get involved with leafletting, or even volunteer at one of the events. Also An Evening with Zadie Smith: Wednesday 4th September - The Crown ...
Here's today's hand-picked selection that caught my interest... Oxbridge admissions: Privilege and prejudice | The Economist Balance? In this debate? It'll never catch on... "Oxbridge admissions: Privilege and prejudice | The Economist" http://bit.ly/15RddKA Why £100m is not too much for the men with the golden boots How attracting top players can pay back » "Why £100m is not too much for the men with the golden boots" http://bit.ly/16VyTdf When politicians get the internet wrong, the internet can be ruthless | Caroline Criado-Perez | Comment is free | theguardian.com Sensible article by @CCriadoPerez on politicians and internet (tho spoilt by fatuous ...
This news comes a special pleasure as about 2 years ago Lib Dem Councillors, Flick Rea and Jill Fraser proposed a motion to Camden Council that they should make it possible for residents to pay for Council services at their local post office. This has finally happened! It is particularly good news for our "new" Post office at St James Church(The Sherriff Centre) which now has the official go-ahead to take over when the West End Lane Post Office closes in Spring 2014. You can also use Mill Lane post office! posted from our "sister blog" - West Hampstead Spotlight ...
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. 102728/FH/2013/S1 238 ...
For fans of the original Star Wars Battlefront and its successor Battlefront II there has been a long wait for a sequel on a newer platform and now it looks like our dreams may be answered. A sneaky teaser trailer was released onto the internet earlier this year giving Star Wars fans and gamers the chills as they begin to hope for more running around blasting Stormies/Rebel scum depending on your orientation. The first two games were fantastic and allowed many of us Fanboys to finally do what we had always wanted to do - run around as Stormtroopers, drive ...
The problem with the internet is that it can magnify mistakes and human frailties out of all proportion and bring the world crashing down on your head, sometimes in tragic circumstances. Over at the Guardian Comment is free site, Caroline Criado-Perez examines this phenomenon and warns politicians in particular that they should not tamper with things they do not understand for fear of making matters worse. She says that it is not the internet that is the problem, it is the people using it: There is a problem when politicians attempt to pronounce on the workings of the internet; too ...
The Welsh Government has launched a consultation into the future of rail services in mid and west Wales, in advance of the new Wales and Borders rail franchise which will begin in 2018. I have long campaigned for improvements to the rail service between Aberystwyth and Birmingham, and for the Aberystwyth to Carmarthen line to be reopened, linking mid and west Wales to Cardiff directly. Action on this front has been expected, indeed promised, for a number of years, and yet improvements have been delayed by the Welsh Assembly Government. It is hugely important for small businesses in Ceredigion to ...
I'm impressed by the new Radio 2 news jingle, and also the other new jingles. The story of their creation is here on the Wise Buddah website. And below you can see a few of them being made. No out-takes, sadly. [IMG: Post to Twitter] Tweet This Post
Thursday Do you know Sarah Teather? She is a charming young woman, even though I had some sharp things to say about her reaction to the Ofsted report on the Bonkers' Home for Well-Behaved Orphans. Like many of the knights I saw off yesterday, she is a former minister, yet she received no gong when given the bum's rush by Clegg and his 12-year-old advisers. I am racking my brains to work out why this should be the case. Lord Bonkers was Liberal MP for Rutland South-West 1906-10. Earlier this week in Lord Bonkers' Diary Too many knightsEscape from Liberal ...
Marianne Faithfull is recovering after breaking a bone in her back - I wish her a swift recovery. We saw in March that her grandfather Theodore was the inventor of the libido-liberating Frigidity Machine. It turns out that Major Faithfull (he was commissioned in the Veterinary Corps) was also briefly Patrick Leigh Fermor's headmaster. Artemis Cooper's biography records that at one point the young Fermor was sent to Walsham Hall, a school for 'difficult children', presided over by the same Major Faithfull. It also says that nude country dancing formed part of the curriculum. Whether this made the children any ...
[IMG: 5146231463_d53357d5f0_b] Photo: Some rights reserved by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center [IMG: Post to Twitter] Tweet This Post
[IMG: Nate Silver] Nate Silver grabbed the headlines last year when he correctly predicted the outcome of the US presidential election in all 50 states when other commentators were expecting a dead heat. Since then, he has sold his fivethirtyeight blog to ESPN and will continue to edit it, expanding it to become, he hopes, the "go to point for data driven journalists." It will also give him the chance to do political punditry for ABC News. He came to the Edinburgh Book Festival earlier this week to talk about his book The Signal and the Noise: The art and ...
posted The Blood is The Life 16-08-2013 http://t.co/1DjQDxK6ov on #dreamwidth (tags: (from twitter) dreamwidth ) Really really hoping this is true I missed the gym for a trip to Blackpool pleasure beach yesterday. I burned a LOT of calories with all the walking BETWEEN rides but if I burnt calories on the rides too, that'd be great. (tags: ) [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
[IMG: Gibraltar] Self-determination — the right of nations to freely choose their sovereignty and international political status with no external compulsion or interference — is a pretty fundamental principle of international law. It's the basis on which British sovereignty in the Falkland Islands and Gibraltar is founded. 11 years ago, the people of Gibraltar were asked in a referendum if sovereignty of the territory should be shared between the UK and Spain: 98% said no. So it's little surprise that the past weeks' sabre-rattling by a Spanish government desperate to distract the public from its own internal problems — Spanish ...
[IMG: Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson - book cover] For much of Walter Isaacson's biography of Steve Jobs it is easy to forget that this is in account of a successful genius rather than a grumpy failure. Difficult, rude, intemperate, unreasonable and often quite bizarre in his behaviour towards those nominally closest to him, Steve Jobs's personality does not get an easy ride in Isaacson's highly readable book. All these flaws make the core idea at the heart of Jobs's success stand out all the more starkly: an obsessive belief in the value and power of simplicity. Simple devices, easy ...
[IMG: A football ground] Today is the first day of competitive action in the Premiership. To mark the occasion, The Times has published an article by Paul Marshall, 'England should run football the German way'. Paul is well-known in Lib Dem circles as chair of the liberal CentreForum think-tank and co-editor of The Orange Book. He's also a passionate Manchester United supporter and was one of the so-called 'Red Knights' who fought for a supporter-based buy-out of the club. And his article sets out what English football needs to learn from the Germans — namely to get local. First, he ...
This week, two families were banned for life from Legoland Windsor for brawling with iron bars while they were queuing for the pirate ride. The news does rather put Legoland into perspective. It is one of those staggeringly expensive examples of an economy in microcosm that is dominated by monopolies and monopolistic concessions. That is why it costs so much to get in, at least £140 for a family of four, booking far in advance. It is why it costs £2.90 per scoop of ice cream when you are there. It is why you have to pay £2 just to ...
More comedy genius from Australia's Clarke and Dawe: Also on YouTube.
The Festival's almost over and so far I've only managed to see two show, as different from each other as you could possibly get. On Tuesday at the Book Festival, I saw American political predictions pundit Nate Silver. My review of that will be on Liberal Democrat Voice later today. Yesterday, I went in with Bob and Anna for a mooch around Bristo Square, and make a visit to the excellent crepe and waffle stand in the Gilded Gardens. Banana, toffee and flaked almond is my recommendation. As ever, there were hundreds of people handing out fliers. It was a ...
It's reported that the industrial action affecting bin collections (work to rule) and other environmental work (which had included a Friday strike) is now over. It's not clear how long it'll take for things to get back to their normal days. The Council is asking residents to keep putting bins out until collections get back to normal.
Liverpool's planning committee will be taking decisions on quite a few South Liverpool planning applications later this month (27 August). These include proposals for the redevelopment of the shopping centre on Gateacre Park Drive, new housing in Speke and changing a shop to a restaurant on Allerton Road. You can see the details of the meeting (which also includes other items) at this link.
I recently had a request from residents in Tullideph Road for an extension of the "green box" household recycling facility. I raised this with the City Council and have been advised: 'At the time of the green box trial introduction, a range of kerbside-serviced property types were to be included on the trial to assess service suitability\usage etc and as a result, not all streets within discrete areas were included. Also, streets with a high number of flatted properties were left off routes at that time, as the kerbside green boxes were not deemed suitable for communal dwellings. These factors ...
