This is well worth spending some time on. Particularly No. 38.
Friday I cannot understand this fuss about allowing equal marriage. A friend of mine was once serving as best man at a wedding in a neighbouring parish when, having dallied with Bacchus at the stag night the evening before, spoke out in the wrong place and found himself married to the vicar. The Church of Rutland being strict on matters of doctrine (it held to the back-foot no ball rule even after the Eastern Orthodox chaps had given it up), divorce was out of the question; so my friend determined to make the best of things and did sterling work ...
[IMG: cropped-barrel-rock-tm-straight2.jpg] I've been experimenting with header images over the last few months. Newbury Market Place has come out as a favourite (below). But I think I've finally come up with one (above) that I'll stick with for a while. It's a photo I took of Barrel Rock, Bude, Cornwall last month on a hot summer's day. My soul certainly resides somewhere in the Bude area. But the last thing I wanted to do was perpetuate the eastern profile of the breakwater as representing Bude. It's been reproduced in millions of photos and paintings, so that it really is a ...
Today, alongside Liberal Democrat colleagues from across the North East Scotland region, I attended the latest meeting of our regional committee that took place in a sunny Aberdeen. Kris Chapman, regional committee Chair, has stepped down as Chair following his recent appointment as the party's Campaigns Officer for Scotland, and I was delighted that Craig Duncan, Convener of the Dundee Liberal Democrat local party, was elected as the new Chair. Kris is a great addition to the party's secretariat in Scotland as we move towards the European election and the referendum next year, and Craig will be an excellent and ...
Sun 18th
19:18
Caldecote And Bourn Villages Sold Out By Council For Sake Of Expediency by Cllr Tumi Hawkins
Bourne Airfield Development - Proposed Boundary On a number of occasions at planning committee meetings, I have told the South Cambridgeshire District Council (SCDC) administration that Caldecote residents felt "dumped on" by the decisions of the council. Little did I know that it was going to get worse ... This time, its not just a dumping on, but a betrayal, a sell out, a sacrifice! In a previous article, I wrote that on 14 May 2013, SCDC announced that it had decided to build three new settlements to meet its projected housing need up to the year 2031. It chose ...
I feel that I should preemptively warn everyone that I am in a severely grumpy mood. And, the bad news is that I don't see it getting much better over the next month. 1) My job ends on Sept. 20. My current job has always been scheduled to end on that date. It isn't a surprise. But, I'm surprised by just HOW much I have left to accomplish in the next month. I've been very consciously and steadily working on my to do list for at least the past three months, in an effort to get it under control. But, ...
This is the title track from Springsteen's 1995 album. Tom Joad, of course, is a character from Steinbeck's The Grapes for Wrath and the final verse is a paraphrase of Joad's final speech in the novel. But there are contemporary resonances too: Highway patrol choppers comin' up over the ridge, Hot soup on a campfire under the bridge, Shelter line stretchin' round the corner, Welcome to the new world order.Rather surprisingly, this reached no. 26 in the UK. It was not released as a single in America.
I've spent the last day or so in a blizzard of moderation over at Liberal Democrat Voice for having the temerity to suggest that, rather than rush to judgement, it might be better to wait for the facts to emerge. As for the suggestion that the media might not always be unbiased or even factually accurate, and that a range of sources might help in reaching one's opinion... And yet, in the real world, plenty of people are perfectly capable of jumping to a conclusion based on something which fits with their biases, conscious or sub-conscious. That is, I suppose, ...
Yesterday I was chatting to a former Blyth Valley Labour councillor. Apparently a group of Labour councillors on Blyth Town Council are making plans to introduce councillors' allowances from the 2014 financial year. One of the first policies we introduced as a Parish Council was one that included a clause that we would not pay ourselves for undertaking the role. Rumour has it that this policy will be challenged later this year, ready for the budget setting exercise for next year. A figure of £100 per councillor per month basic allowance has ( allegedly) already been discussed I must stress ...
Counting down towards the fiftieth birthday of Doctor Who with Fifty great scenes... This one's from 1980, towards the end of three years starring Tom Baker, K9 and Romana. It's a brilliantly designed, directed and scripted story, a fiercely intelligent evolutionary fable. The allegory of 'revealed truth' versus awkward questions and the morality of siding with the underdog are close to my heart. But for all the great dialogue, thought-provoking revelations and the Doctor's moral passion, deep down the moment that most gets me is still the thrilling monster reveal. When Mistfall comes, the giants leave the swamp... "Master. Alert." ...
I've read many, many books on Scientology and I think I can safely say that this is the most well-written of them all. The beautiful prose made this an absolute joy to read (even if I read most of it sat in a hospital car park!), and it tells a fascinating story indeed. I love the history of religions and this book is the definitive history of Dianetics and Scientology. For people who have only the vaguest of interest in the church, this book will give you an easy to read but in depth look at the history of the ...
I was part of a Liberal Democrat team yesterday which was armed with a questionnaire about the EU. We were in Market Square in Lancaster to dispel the myths that abound which are cultivated by some parts of our media. What percentage of UK laws is dictated by Europe? How much of our exports go to the EU? How many are employed by the EU and how much does the EU spend? The final question asked about putting an order to the largest markets in the world. As expected, most thought that the EU itself employed too many, spent too ...
I wrote an article for the University of Birmingham Lib Dems about the widening gender gap that has been represented in A level results. Have a look here.
[IMG: AlistairCarmichael] Liberal Democrat Chief Whip swaps lurking in the shadows of Westminster for two weeks in Cameroon today. As I write he's in Terminal One at Heathrow waiting to catch a flight to Brussels and will land in the African country, which lies between Nigeria to the north, Equatorial Guinea to the South and the Central African Republic to the east. Alistair is not heading to Cameroon for a holiday. He will be part of a VSO project, working for the Aide Legale Liberale, an organisation which aims to provide free legal representation for those who would otherwise not ...
In addition to its regular series of voting intention polls, ICM also runs a series of 'wisdom of crowds' questions, asking people not how they will vote but rather to predict the outcome of the next elections. Here are the figures from the August poll: At the last General Election in May 2010, the Conservatives won 37% share of the vote, Labour won 30% share, the Liberal Democrats 24% share and smaller parties had 10% share of the vote. Knowing this, please tell me what percentage share of the vote you think the ... would win if there were a ...
Welcome to the latest in my occasional series highlighting interesting findings from academic research. Today - what voters think of job-sharing MPs. The idea that people should be able to job-share the role of MP has gained prominence in recent years, including being pushed by some strong supporters within the Liberal Democrats although without winning, as yet, majority support in the party. The research in question is another article co-authored by Phil Cowley, this time with Rosie Campbell. The picture they found of British public opinion on the issue is a nuanced one, so the full paper is well worth ...
End of an era, now missing the petrol pumps
we hope this will make it clear that Sulis Meadows is one way and the same way out !
I recently posted a link on my Facebook page to a booklet which explains the Liberal Democrat achievements in government. You can find the link here I made this comment on the booklet... Take a look at the whole document but if you don't have time then these are the significant phrases for me. The Tories won't deliver a fairer society. Labour can't deliver a stronger economy. For years our opponents would tell people that we weren't ready for government. Not any more. Within a few minutes I received a comment from a Labour councillor and she said "you would ...
Lib Dem Voice has polled our members-only forum to discover what Lib Dem members think of various political issues, the Coalition, and the performance of key party figures. More than 600 party members have responded, and we're publishing the full results. Guardian's CiF tops poll: almost half Lib Dem members read it LDV asked: Which non-Lib Dem politics blogs (if any) do you read? Please tick all that apply. Figures compared with last time we asked this question, in September 2012.) Guardian Comment is Free 44% (-2%) Huffington Post 29% (-2%) ConservativeHome 29% (-1%) UK Polling Report 27% (-1%) Guido ...
Political parties selling access to their leaders, cabinet members and other influential policy makers is not new, however the Tories have taken matters to a new low with their menu of lobbying prices for this years party conference. The Independent reports that amongst the treats that can be purchased at the conference, lobbyists can pay £1,750 to leave a message on David Cameron's pillow. On each day of the conference companies or lobbying firms will be able to pay to have their "message or promotional item" placed on the bed of the 350 most senior Tories staying in the official ...
Wales on line reports on a warning by Dr Richard Lewis, the Welsh secretary of the British Medical Association, that cost-cutting measures in the Welsh health service are putting patients at risk. Dr Lewis told the paper that short-term measures taken by cash-strapped health boards across Wales to meet financial and performance targets impact on patient care and dignity and increase NHS workloads. He added that it was vital for the health service to find efficient ways to provide care that would not put patients at risk. And he emphasised that if the NHS had the right measures in place, ...
http://www.theguardian.com/p/3t4xe Women who fear being forced to marry abroad told to hide spoon in underwear http://t.co/CaC1Vewv8k (tags: (from twitter) ) The effectiveness of drug control in one simple graph http://t.co/WgVwMzICJ1 (tags: (from twitter) ) http://pinterest.com/pin/164803667587107704/ This charming charlie - Charlie Brown with Smiths lyrics, via @LordBonkers http://t.co/QfrE7dMoQI (tags: (from twitter) ) posted The Blood is The Life 17-08-2013 http://t.co/fEOzYpeIAs on #dreamwidth (tags: (from twitter) dreamwidth ) The Zoë-Trope: REAL GIRLS, FAKE GIRLS, EVERBODY HATES GIRLS On female characters in fiction. (tags: ) [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
American presidents have come and gone, but the Castro brothers have hung on to power in Cuba for 54 years; there's a delicious irony in that. I first visited the island nearly 20 years ago, when its economy was flat on the floor following the withdrawal of Russian subsidies, exacerbating the effects of the unjustifiable [...]
I have to admit that, after nearly two years of being involved with Liberal Democrat Voice, I find the level of 'debate' a bit disheartening sometimes. Personal attack, accusations of the basest of motives on the part of the people with whom an individual disagrees, avowed certainty based on wilfully partial and selective use of the available data, all of these tend to make for a rather depressing window on what is said to represent political debate in this country. Add to that the presumption of motive on behalf of someone who is unknown to the accuser other than via ...
Every summer in August, London's literary types decamp in a big coach for a small square in Edinburgh New Town, for the Edinburgh Book Festival - and very good it is too. Good atmosphere, good company, blue skies, nice grass to sit on. Rather wonderful, in fact. I mention this because, as this blog is posted, I am speeding up to Edinburgh to joint them and to elucidate my book Broke: Who Killed the Middle Classes?, which remains the subject of some controversy. I am very much looking forward to discussing the ideas in it with anyone who comes, at ...
The campaign is launching a photo competition to create its 2014 Calendar: In the spirit of community, we are inviting six professional photographers to submit pieces for the calendar and six of the photographs will be chosen from entries received as part of the competition. Each of the six competition winners will receive the choice of either a six month subscription to Digital Photo Magazine or six copies of the 2014 Magdalen Green Calendar. Your photo cannot have won other competitions, as we are striving for originality. Photos must be taken in Magdalen Green (including Roseangle Play Park) and you ...
