Kingston's Welsh Hall a Victorian 'tin chapel' in the heart of North Kingston is no more. The building had various uses over the years including serving as my local polling station, but has now been demolished and replaced with housing. There had been a campaign to keep it as a community facility and the Kingston Welsh Hall Society was formed to try to take it on. But the society failed and was dissolved in May 2012. Top picture by Jim Linwood
I know this isn't the kind of thing that we bloggers are supposed to admit, but really I have been staggeringly naive about banking in practice. Let's set the Co-op Bank on one side quickly. I realised that the Co-op Group gave money to the utterly toothless Co-operative Party, and didn't think about it, but I never realised - and this is entirely my fault - that Co-op Bank funded the Labour Party directly. Everybody else seems to have known. There is no way that I will keep my accounts there if they carry on doing so, no matter how ...
Cambridgeshire Police are to be asked to prioritise policing of 20mph speed limits in Cambridge when they come into force next year following a call from East Chesterton County Councillor, Ian Manning. Cllr Manning gained support from his fellow councillors on the city's North Area Committee to formally raise the issue with the police to make sure the new limits are effective. His call came after residents questioned how effective the new limits would be and whether there would be training offered for drivers who break the rules. "It is vital that the police take the enforcement of the new ...
When Cambridge Lib Dem Councillor, Sarah Brown heard how the number of disadvantaged youngsters unable to swim was increasing she decided to do something about it. She had just taken over running Cambridge City Council's swimming pools, public health and children's services and she decided a new initiative was needed to tackle the problem. Sarah, Executive Councillor for Community Wellbeing brought together council officers from public health, the council's play service (ChYpPS) and leisure management and asked them to work together to develop a scheme to target those children least likely to have strong swimming skills. The aim was to ...
The hunt has begun to find village heroes who make a big difference in small South Cambridgeshire communities. Nominations for South Cambridgeshire District Council's annual Community Pride Awards have now opened, and residents are being asked to put forward names of contenders. The awards celebrate the achievements of local people who have made a significant and voluntary contribution to their area over the last 12 months. The five gongs up for grabs are: Village Hero - recognising outstanding individualsYoung Village Hero - recognising outstanding individuals who are under 18Contribution to Local Services - recognising community or voluntary led services, such ...
Earlier today, along with representatives of the Friends of Balgay, two of my ward colleagues and a City Council Environment Department officer, I attended the latest Balgay Stakeholders' Group meeting that took place in the pavilion at Lochee Park. The group discusses projects and issues at Balgay Park, the Hill, Cemetery and Victoria Park and we had a really good meeting covering a number of positive developments - 3 new noticeboards being proposed for the area, 5 new benches (mainly for the Balgay Cemetery area) and I was pleased to see that the area at the entrance to the park ...
The journalist Ray Gosling died last week. Younger readers will know him, if at all, for his prosecution for wasting police time after claiming on air that he had smothered his terminally ill lover. (It should, of course, have been the BBC in the dock, if only for failing to protect an elderly and rather fragile man.) But in the 1970s he and his socially engaged reporting were a fixture on Radio 4. The Leicester Mercury remembered Ray Gosling with an extract from his memoirs Personal Copy in which he described setting up a youth club in Leicester in the ...
A residential and respite care home for adults with learning disabilities has been given top marks after a visit by Government inspectors. The home at Russell Street, Cambridge, recently underwent a routine inspection by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and was found to be performing well in all aspects of the inspection. The house provides residential care and respite support for up to eight people who were interviewed as part of the inspection process. Inspectors also spoke to staff working at Russell Street. The CQC report notes that service users were positive and complimentary about the support they received. Inspectors ...
The Five Star Focus Award has been presented to the service for their volunteering programme by Volunteering, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, the partnership of Volunteer Centres across the county. This is a brand new scheme and Cambridgeshire Libraries and Archives are the very first to receive it. The award evaluates the work that takes place with volunteers from recruitment to recognition. Cambridgeshire Libraries, and Archives have a wide range of valuable volunteers of all ages - from Computer Buddie and Rhymetime Assistants to the Library at Home service. Cambridgeshire County Council's Cabinet Member for Education and Learning, Councillor David Harty said ...
Budget proposals due to be debated by councillors show that public services are in for tough times ahead to meet nearly £149 million in savings over the next five years Members of the County Councils Scrutiny Committees will be looking at draft budget proposals put forward to meet the huge savings required for 2014/15 and the following years. The report warns that there are no easy solutions to meet the savings and that some services will need to be cut or reduced as the Council has already saved £74 million in the last two years. It suggests that the Council ...
Superfast broadband has arrived in rural Cambridgeshire under the Connecting Cambridgeshire programme, with the first new green cabinets going live from today.(Monday 25 November) An early Christmas present for communities around the county, the switch-on heralds the start of the Connecting Cambridgeshire high speed fibre broadband roll-out across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. Connecting Cambridgeshire is celebrating the first of many new fibre broadband cabinets to go live by unveiling a new green cabinet in the rural village of Grafham, near Huntingdon. The roadside cabinet is one of ten new cabinets around the county being connected to the fibre network, bringing opportunities ...
I really enjoyed the 5.30pm news on Radio Four today. "Enjoy" is not a verb normally associated with listening to news bulletins, admittedly. But Ben Maeder read it. Who he? The West Cumbrian reporter for BBC Radio Cumbria. He read the news beautifully, kicking off "Accent week" on PM. Each day they'll be featuring a newsreader with an accent not normally associated with the PM news. Presumably they won't have a Nord Iron accent featured, because they normally do have the Belfast tones of the superb Kathy Clugson. Oh, and they won't presumably has a Scots accent featured because they ...
You know your blog has been running a long time (and that you have a good memory) when you can write: "Eight years ago I suggested..." Well, eight years ago I suggested there may be a connection between the decline in our ability to view the awesome night sky and the decline of religion. Today I came across a piece of research that supports that idea. A press release from the Association for Psychological Science describes a study reported in a paper in its journal Psychological Science. In the study: participants watch awe-inspiring scenes from BBC's Planet Earth documentary series ...
I have always believed that government needs challenge and discussion rather than deference or conformism. Sadly the ruling Bootle Labour Party in Sefton seem to disagree. The know it all. Cabinet meetings last a few minutes, the Health and Well Being Board is stuffed with Labour councillors-no opposition allowed. We have to use Freedom of Information requests to acquire information that should be in the public domain. Undue secrecy pervades their actions. As a result they 'mess up'. What follows is a tale of one such event: It has been a good year for the Public Health aspect of Mental ...
Bar Hill Library and Post Office So Christmas is almost upon us and it's now time to think of the relatives in far-flung corners of the globe and make sure they get their Christmas cards/ presents on time! I found this was useful to me so I thought I'd share it ... UK MAIL Wednesday, December 18th 2nd Class and Royal Mail Signed ForFriday, December 20th 1st Class and Royal Mail Signed ForMonday, December 23rd Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed INTERNATIONAL AIRMAIL Wednesday, December 4th Asia, Far East, Japan, New ZealandThursday, December 5th AustraliaFriday, December 6thth South & Central America, ...
Evan Davies on Today this morning reported that a new clock, provided via a listener's website, has been installed in their studio. It shows the time in words, which is rather novel. This is following some time-telling difficulty displayed by Davis and his co-presenter, Sarah Montague. This reminded me of Jack de Manio. When I was at primary school, during the mid to late sixties, I used to join my parents in their big bed to listen to Today on Radio Four. In fact, I think I even got in there for Farming Today sometimes. I remember hearing "here is ...
I've recently been trying to get Manchester City Council to give Chorlton Green protected village green status. You may be aware that Withington Green on Wilmslow Road has recently been under threat of redevelopment. Which is why I want village green status for Chorlton Green to protect the land for the future and prevent it from development. It's a simple process and simply requires the Chief Executive to register the land as a village green to give it added protection. Sadly the Council are so far unwilling to do so. This article appeared in today's Manchester Evening News:
[IMG: Nick Harvey] Ex-minister and Liberal Democrat MP for North Devon, Nick Harvey, has joined Twitter. This brings to 44 the number of Liberal Democrat MPs now on Twitter. He is @NickHarveyND and you can follow all the Lib Dem MPs on Twitter via this list.
Glenn Greenwald, who worked with whistleblower Edward Snowden, told a London audience that there is more to come out on UK involvement. Speaking via Skype from a hotel room in Rio De Janeiro, the journalist addressed an audience mostly of Law students on Friday evening at UCL. He described "British political culture" as "idiosyncratic on the [...]
Mon 25th
17:01
Day 4712 BONUS: Millennium's Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Top Trunks #41: ALPHA CENTAURI
More Monday: Age: Fortieth Century Girl. Or Boy. Stories: 3 Awesomeness: I shall summon assistance... HELP! HELP! HELP! Cuddles: Thank you Eckersley, but you're still a traitor! AKA: the Body of Morbius; the Giant Rat of Weng-Chiang (no relation); the Shrivenzale; the somersaulting Sea Devil; Kraal three; assorted doomed guards and soldiers; also Jo Grant; it's the totally spectacular Stuart Fell
Saturday 7th December is Victorian Market day in Cheadle – an occasion not to be missed.
Monday: Age: Faux Medieval Stories: 3 Awesomeness: Royal Beast of Peladon. God of all Fluffy Things. With Horn. Cuddles: Klokeda Partha Mennon Klatch. One of the filthiest ditties in all Venusian history. AKA: Mr Napier (Amy's Choice); he's the utterly awesome Mr Nick Hobbs
Sunday: Age: Younger than Liza Minelli Stories: 39 Awesomeness: Trained UNIT agent; able to resist the Master's hypnotism; blew up the Devil; told the Brigadier he'd have to chain her up and fling her into a dungeon. Cuddles: Traded in third Dr Woo for a younger trendier model. Still got patronized. Huge extended family; we've shared a lift with her, you know. AKA: Jo Jones; Miss Bette Davis; the utterly fantabulous Miss Katy Manning
The Daily Express, never shy about blowing its own trumpet, has a blazing headline claiming that over 150000 have signed an anti immigration petition. Oh Wow ! Its own figures claim a readership of approx 1.2million on sales of 537,743 so it's not such a big number on the petition given the mindset of Express readers. And when you further consider that there are about 42million people over 19yrs old who describe themselves in the census as 'white British' the number becomes insignificant.
Heard much about the referendum lately? I only ask because there is a curious phenomenon at play in Scotland at present. Never mind "Will you be voting 'Yes' or No' next year?": the real divide in Scotland seems to be between those who think they have heard too much from politicians already and those who think they have heard nothing at all. To campaigners on both sides of the 'great debate' this latter camp is intensely frustrating. At my last count (I am in recovery now), the UK government had published over 600 pages of analysis and argument. The slackers ...
I read Jennie Rigg's blog post today with a sense of disquiet. Not, as one might think, with a sense of disbelief, or disgust, or disappointment, but disquiet. It does bother me somewhat when people I like are disturbed to the point when they take actions which, in my mind, are injurious to themselves and/or others, or are made unhappy by the actions of others or even sheer randomness. Sometimes I note from their Twitter feeds, or from third parties, that life is dealing out lemons today. I find myself thinking, "there, but for the grace of God, go I", ...
In the week of the JCHR evidence session with Chris Grayling, the Justice Alliance has provided Simon Hughes MP with testimonials from over 100 organisations under the banner 'Justice Deserves Lib Dems Stay Legal Aid Proposals'. The Testimonials represent a cross-section of society from The Howard League for Penal Reform, Liberty, Reprieve, Justice, to the British Tamil Forum, Kurdish Community Centre, René Cassin, Unite the Union, The Children's Society and Women Against Rape. As Liberty say in their testimonial: UK justice should be open to all, with everyone having the opportunity to refute an accusation of criminal behaviour, challenge treatment ...
Mon 25th
12:25
Badly designed forms and obscure language aren't just risible; they waste money and damage public se...
You may have noticed I have a bit of a thing for badly written official forms, confusing language that makes a Plain English award seem a distant prospect, and the way in which poorly designed details of administration easily escalate into bigger problems. So this from a US congressman caught my eye: [IMG: Lasting power of attorney paperwork] Confusing language is frustrating. But beyond our frustration are real consequences if we misunderstand government documents and regulations. Confusing language leads to mistakes that have dramatic consequences for our health, safety and financial security. Think of the ramifications of failing to understand ...
Imagine, just for a moment, that the Government wanted to keep a record of everyone's sexuality. They need to know this detailed demographic data because it will be highly useful in civic planning. It will help them work out what provision needs to be made for sexual health services, how many cildren are likely to be born, how many schools to build, etc. You trust the Government, you voted for them, you and your friends have nothing to hide with regards to your sexuality. But! Shock horror! After creating the database, the Government loses the election and the homophobes at ...
I listened over breakfast to strange interview with George Osborne, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with an incredulous Evan Davies about payday loan companies. Davies was incredulous because an ostensibly free market Chancellor has prejudged his own process to decide to cap the charges and interest rates Wonga and their like can charge. Osborne replied, quite correctly, that free trade means regulated markets - as indeed it does. He replied that other countries cap the interest rates of their high cost lenders, notably in the USA. In fact, most US states employ real-time database, like the one provided by the ...
Friday is normally and constituency day for MPs,but Tory backbencher Peter Bone has rather full Parliamentary schedule this week. On Friday, the majority of the private members legislation up for discussion belongs to the MP for Wellingborough. The highlights include: Prime Minister (Replacement) Bill Department of Energy and Climate Change (Abolition) Bill Legislation Romanian and [...]
I am pleased to welcome the announcement by the Home Secretary of the roll out of Clare's law across the UK from next March. This follows a pilot scheme across [...]
In the run up to Christmas, Cornwall Council is making a special offer to shoppers in Launceston allowing all day parking on Saturdays for just £1. The special offer starts this Saturday and is then repeated on December 7th, 14th and 21st. The offer applies to Walk House, Cattle Market, Castle Street and Pannier Market car parks (it doesn't apply in season ticket bays or in the town council's multi-storey car park). In order to use the offer, just buy a £1 parking ticket on any Saturday before Christmas. You will need to use a coin and buy a paper ...
Mon 25th
11:56
Council refuses to find space for residents when Carlisle Avenue resurfaced, as officials fail to co...
Email received by us from the district council: Our initial thoughts were and are that whilst Carlisle Avenue carries a 2 hour restriction, the closest CPZ to it carries an all day restriction and is quite heavily subscribed. Whilst we understand that the resurfacing of Carlisle Avenue will cause some inconvenience, we believe that the surrounding uncontrolled roads and the other 2 hour restricted roads would be sufficient for any overspill. We feel that should residents of Carlisle Avenue be allowed to park in the heavily subscribed all day restricted zones then there is the potential for those residents within ...
The last few days I have been having conversations via various media with sseveral different people about our, um, eccentricities. It turns out that, like with lots of other taboo subjects, once a topic comes up and you "admit" that you have experienced it, suddenly lots of other people can talk to you about how they have too. Those of you who don't and haven't self harmed possibly don't realise quite how prevalent it is. So this is my public coming out, if you like. When the intersection of my anxiety, depression and paranoia become too much, I self-harm. ( ...
When President Kennedy was shot, 50 years ago, it was left to pioneering news anchor Walter Cronkite to tell the American public. CBS though have decided to remove the famous moment from YouTube, and have issued a takedown notice. I'm all for respecting copyright, but this is not quite in the spirit of remembrance.
Today is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and is also White Ribbon Day. It has been just over 2 months since we passed my motion at conference that called for further and stronger measures to tackle domestic violence. This set out our commitment to standing up for victims and making tackling domestic abuse a priority for Liberal Democrats for beyond 2015. Today is a day to recognise the huge fight we still have ahead of us in stamping out, what is an abuse of human rights. Many local organisations will be carrying out days of ...
Unless he has evidence, Dominic Grieve, the Attorney-General, was probably unwise to single out the Pakistani community in Britain for special mention in his accusations of "corruption in some minority communities." However, my friend John Cole, for 15 years a member of Bradofrd City Council, has writen to Mr Grieve pointing out that there is ample reason for concern about the possibility of corrupt practices in British elections. John writes: "I would strongly recommend (assuming you have not already done so) that you get hold of a copy of "Purity of Elections in the UK: Causes for Concern". This is ...
You'd think with the massive cuts which Labour claim are being inflicted on the City members of the controlling Labour Group would have useful things to do with their time. But as the article below from Mr Brocklebank shows that ... Continue reading →
Mon 25th
10:38
Standing room only? Another 'interesting' idea from the Institute for Economic Affairs...
Picking up my copy of the Times this morning, my eyes were drawn to a small teaser on the front page, indicating that Ministers are being pressed to allow train companies to reintroduce third-class "standing only" train carriages as a cheap way to increase capacity. As a retired South Londoner (as in, I don't live there any more), I remember spending most of my time standing on trains anyway, and then standing on the Underground having reached a London terminus. Accordingly, I turned to the piece, on page 11, expecting the worst. I wasn't disappointed. Given the tendency of the ...
The Cooperative scandal, it's got the lot. Sex + drugs + religion + money = media feeding frenzy. Liberals mustn't join in too much. Especially where mutual ownership and public services are concerned. Like the Cooperative Bank, most mutuals and co-ops operate in market conditions. Unlike it, most are small. In public service, as free collaborations, mutuals provide an alternative to collective state monoliths. In commerce, properly run, they avoid public companies' shareholder short-termism. Indeed, in some ownership models, they confer real power on consumers. The Cooperative Party gives Labour significant reach across mutual enterprises. But it doesn't control all ...
Hearing the new tube arrangements being read out last week was rather like scoring a goal and then suffering an equalizer straight from the kick off. The announcement by TfL that there would be week-end night tubes from 2015, and that this would include our very own North Greenwich station, was tremendous news....well except for cab drivers doing the Jamaica [...]
posted The Blood is The Life 24-11-2013 http://t.co/SUbZ3fBOjs on #dreamwidth (tags: dreamwidth (from twitter) ) British Comic Awards 2013 - THE RESULTS ARE HERE!! - Forbidden Planet Blog (tags: ) is that a thing? sex symbol hair? Yes, yes it is :) (tags: ) http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/174929.stm From 1998: BBC News: UK Politics Labour activists told: 'Smear Lib Dems' http://t.co/RDf8AOmf88 (tags: (from twitter) ) http://rocketqueenlane.tumblr.com/image/67957115955 I think I shall be listening to the Queen playlist this evening http://t.co/UE6PRxozst (tags: (from twitter) ) http://youtu.be/C0hW_UQASjY Call Me During Doctor Who and I'll Kill You http://t.co/SsVoVZ9Q3k (tags: (from twitter) ) FAO @culturevultures: #motr ...
Today's Independent reports on a referral to the Financial Conduct Authority by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills of allegedly poor practice by two partly-nationalised banks that if proven will underline how badly small businesses are being treated by financiers. I have an interest in this because the allegations closely mirror the case of one of my constituents, who I have been trying to help, and who, along with other South Wales businessmen in the same situation, I and fellow Welsh Liberal Democrats AMs arranged to meet with Business Secretary, Vince Cable earlier this year. A report written by ...
As Catching Fire, the second Hunger Games film, is now in cinemas I thought we'd take a look at dystopias. So look out for posts on: What the Hunger Games owes to 1984 Brave New World is not prophecy Why totalitarianism is so fragile Seasame Street's take on Catching Fire Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: Brave [...]
I helped execute #labourdoorstep hashtag in '09 but it's smarter to have issues-based tags that public can identify with: #freezethatbill — Alex Smith (@alexsmith1982) November 23, 2013
Today's Western Mail reports that a new poll published reveals that Wales is split on the question of whether or not they would vote Yes in a referendum to give the National Assembly the power to vary income tax. They say that the poll by RMG for the Institute of Welsh Affairs (IWA) found there was strong support for giving the Assembly borrowing powers, but when asked whether they would be in favour of AMs having the power to raise or lower income tax rates in Wales, 40% said Yes, 43% said No, and 18% did not know. When asked ...
