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I have vague memories of the children's television series Raven and even of owning the paperback novelisation of it, but in truth I was a bit old for that sort of thing by 1977. A bit of googling finds this video and a summary of what it was about: Raven, a 15-year-old Borstal boy, is released on probation to live with Professor Young, an archaeologist immersed in research into Arthurian legend, and his wife, an amateur ornithologist. The professor is working in deep underground caves whose carved symbols suggest that King Arthur may have used them as a hiding place, ...
A report in the Daily Telegraph last week said: The future of England's grammar schools is under threat because education funding is being diverted towards deprived pupils with poor exam results, the head teacher of the country's top-performing secondary has warned. ... Paul Evans, the head of Colyton grammar in Devon, said tackling underperformance in poor areas was a "laudable aim" but insisted it had "serious unintended consequences" for schools such as his.I find myself unconcerned by this. Not because I think grammar schools are wicked, but because this is exactly the effect the Pupil Premium was meant to have. ...
So, the Verhofstadt/Rehn joint ticket is unleashed upon an unsuspecting world, with a healthy 80% mandate, and most people seem to be happy that their goals have been achieved. All is, therefore, as well as it might be. The deal cut, whereby one or other candidate will visit a particular location based on the needs of the local member party, is clearly designed to allow the most attractive aspects of the ALDE platform to be showcased in a manner appropriate to the political culture and circumstances that prevail. That too appears to be a thoroughly good thing. So, what have ...
Caroline Flint: a modern quockerwodger? Today, I have come across this list of "obsolete" words that merit being revived. These words at first glace appear quite comical, but like many words that have regrettably fallen out of use they actually enrich our language and increase our range of thought and expression. I'm not entirely convinced that all of these words are "obsolete" - I personally have used the word "groak" and "cockaloram" appears in Charles Kingsley's classic, "The Water Babies". But I grant that they're hardly in common usage, which is a great shame because I could just image Andrew ...
Sun 2nd
20:00
"Tory Deal That Signals Disaster For Rural Communities Near Northstowe" by Cllr Tumi Hawkins
Cllr Tumi Hawkins "Multi-million pound deal struck to provide community facilities at Northstowe"This is the spin that South Cambridgeshire District Council put on the recent agreement to let developers off with a bonus of £30 million! According to the press release, a report presented to the Northstowe Joint Development Control Committee today (Wednesday 29 January) outlines the terms of the agreement which will get the new town off the ground. The legal agreement includes: £10 million for a new primary school£8 million contribution toward a new secondary schoolAlmost £6 million toward transport, including new cycle routes, footpaths and a contribution ...
Thermal Imaging Camera (Image Courtesy Wikipedia) South Cambridgeshire District Councils' Energy Projects team have made available to Bar Hill residents their Thermal Imaging camera. The main use for this will be to spot area of your house, like roof spaces, windows, doors, etc where you're losing the most heat. There will be a short training session on the 13th February between 7 and 8pm at the Parish Council Offices. If you'd like to attend please contact Bunty Waters via email.
I was out and about this weekend with my boyfriend but I had no cash on me. I am the worst at getting cash out! I believe if I lose my card I lose very little, I lose my cash it is gone for ever. After a fantastic day trip out in central London we stopped for a sausage sandwich for lunch. Nothing unusual there, just grabbing something to eat in a Westminster pub. They came over with the bill and I handed over my card. The man goes to get the machine and comes back and tries to hand ...
I'll be back to blogging regularly tomorrow — I'm in the last stages of completing a draft of my novel to send to the publishers. The 80/20 rule has really applied here — 80% of the time I've spent on this book has been on less than 10,000 words of additions, but it's practically done. [...]
Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 363rd 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 (26 Jan - 1 February, 2014), 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. ...
[IMG: 1011753_10153789438195724_1854088897_n] Returning to my current fascination with water levels on the River Kennet: I've been looking at the Enivironment Agency website, as it gives depth readings from several stations along the Kennet. By keeping an eye on the level further upriver, such as at Winterbourne Monkton, it can be seen if there are higher levels coming our way. A couple of days ago we had heavy rain, then the levels went up at Winterbourne Monkton, and today we have heightened levels at Newbury, up to 1.23 metres. I also found the website of the Kennet Catchment Partnership which has ...
Edward Skidelski's Guardian review of Philip Roscoe's "I Spend, therefore I am. . ." contains the telling warning: A measure is a dangerous tool, for it tends to take the place of whatever it measures. Add the maxim: What gets measured gets done; and Goodhart's Law: When a measure becomes the target it can no longer be used as a measure; and we begin to see the danger of our current obsession with subjecting professional activities to what Skidelski calls "scoring systems." In my view these systems, especially as they are applied in health and education, have five major disadvantages: ...
We are just back from Bill Quay Community Farm in Gateshead where we help look after the bees. The purpose of the visit today was to carry out the varroa treatment on the hives. This is the mite that has spread throughout the UK's beehives over the past 20 years. Varroa will probably never be eradicated. Instead, we have to manage it. To treat it, we inject oxalic acid in a sugar syrup into the
What is currently happening in Egypt in my view is a very sad and violent transformation. Yet as a native of this country, I believe this to be an internal process and should be shaped only by Egyptians living in Egypt. However, what should not be accepted as an internal matter is the level of intimidation and violence against journalists and foreign correspondents, particularly foreign journalists and those working for foreign media organisations. They are unwittingly being sucked into a political turmoil they do not control. They are seasoned professionals caught in the line of fire while doing their job. ...
[Guest post by Baroness Tyler] Debates over banning smoking in cars with children have shown a quite legitimate difference of opinion about how to apply liberal principles in an such an area, as illustrated when Nick Clegg shared his views on Thursday's Call Clegg. Much of the ensuing media and blog debate -including on Lib Dem Voice -has focussed on whether it's right to legislate about what people do in private cars and whether this isn't too great an intrusion by the "nanny state" into the private realm. Whilst some of the debate in the Lords this week addressed that ...
I was very grateful that the Dulwich Society agreed to apply for East Dulwich Police station to be listed as a Community asset under thE Localism Act. This listing owuld give us more influence in what happens with the site. Sadly Southwark Council refused this application stating the localism Act could not be used. Weirdly three other councils around England have listed police station using this act: • Waverley council: Haslemere police station was listed in 2013 • East Hampshire council: Petersfield police station was listed in September 2013 • Calderdale council: Hebden Bridge police station was listed ...
YouGov mines its data and finds the following: The following month we ran a survey on Doctor Who and noticed that while 31% of Brits take an interest in the programme, this rises to 41% among Liberal Democrats. So far, it could just be an anomaly. But then we started looking things up in the [...]
Another great video from Tom Scott:
The other day, someone said in a comment on here that the SNP seemed like a liberal party. I don't doubt that there are liberals in it, but they are not evident at the higher levels and particularly in regard to anything the Scottish government does in relation to justice. Kenny MacAskill, the Justice Secretary has presided over a massively disproportionate use of stop and search powers, agreed to appalling overuse of solitary confinement for vulnerable female prisoners, failed to be mortified after a second damning inspection report at Scotland's women's prison, Cornton Vale and is now dismantling one of ...
From the Leicester Mercury: Part of a town's police station is to be knocked down to save money on heating and provide four extra parking spaces. Plans have been lodged for the building in Fairfield Road, in Market Harborough. It follows a £150,000 programme last year when all the windows were replaced to save on heating bills.
German War graves in France On 28th July this year the World will begin to commemorate the beginning of World War One, the invasions of France, Russia and the Balkans by the Central Powers as well as the Allied invasion of the Middle East and Gallipoli. The First World War claimed 22,477,500 Allied KIA, WIA and MIA as well as a further 16,403,000 Central Powers KIA, WIA, MIA. One of those was my Grandmother's Uncle Donald Homersham MM who was killed instantly by a German shell on the 16th October 1916 on the Somme. With Michael Gove's recent posturing on ...
Today's Observer reports on a campaign to cut the amount of sugar we consume which academics calculate could save the NHS £50 billion a year: Action on Sugar was launched last month. At a time when many people were defaulting on new year pledges to improve their diets, the organisation said the burden of cutting our sugar intake by up to 40% over the next four years should instead be placed on Britain's food and drink manufacturers. The group will meet Jeremy Hunt, the health secretary, this week to try to persuade him to sign up to their cause. The ...
Many thanks to the 17,300 visitors who dropped by Lib Dem Voice this week. Here's our 7 most-read posts... Statement by Maajid Nawaz and Mohammed Shafiq (47 comments) by The Voice And the new Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader is.... (44 comments) by The Voice Jane Merrick: "How we can all stop worrying and learn to love the Lib Dems" (46 comments) by The Voice Tom Brake MP writes... Liberal Democrats have improved the Lobbying Bill (58 comments) by The Voice The Malcolm Bruce Interview Part 1: on the Liberal Democrats' achievements in Government and why SNP's promises are undeliverable (4 ...
As I wrote years ago when choosing a song by Clive Gregson and Christine Collister, I used to listen to John Shaw's radio programme on Sunday evenings. I remember him interviewing Stephen Duffy about his new band The Lilac Time. In those days Duffy was known as a founder member of Duran Duran and had had hits as Stephen "Tin Tin" Duffy, but The Lilac Time - its name taken from a Nick Drake song - was clearly an attempt at seriousness. During the interview Shaw played a Lilac Time tracks called American Eyes and here it is. These days ...
This week's policy updates from our Lead Members on LGA policy boards includes news and information from: Workforce, and Community Well Being Regular updates on the work of the LGA Lib Dems on policy boards will be published on the ALDC website and feedback on any of the matters raised is encouraged. Workforce Lead Member [...]
Sun 2nd
11:22
Gove and Laws scrap it out on front pages over sacking of Ofsted head. Here's what the row is all ab...
Today's newspaper front pages are full of the scrap taking place at the heart of the Department for Education between Conservative secretary of state Michael Gove and Lib Dem schools minister David Laws: [IMG: gove laws - papers] Ofsted row: Lib Dems furious at Conservative plan to 'politicise' classrooms (Independent on Sunday) Lib Dems savage Gove over sacked schools boss (The Sunday Times, £) Angry Lib Dems accuse Michael Gove of bid to politicise education (Observer) Why is there a row? On Friday night, The Independent broke the news that Baroness (Sally) Morgan, the Labour peer appointed by Michael Gove ...
Three months ago we reported: Emma Gilpin-Jacobs appointed as Director of Communications to the DPM. Today we report: Emma Gilpin-Jacobs quits as Director of Communications to the DPM. Here's how PR Week reported the swift departure: The former FT comms chief confirmed the Lib Dem line that she had resigned from the post due to the realisation that the position demanded more political focus than her corporate comms experience. She told PRWeek: "I chose to leave because my strategic global, corporate-focused communications experience will be better utilised in a less day-to day-political operational role – and it's all very amicable." ...
More comedy genius from Australia's Clarke and Dawe: You can also watch this on YouTube.
Sun 2nd
09:45
Liberator on 'Coalition and Beyond': "It genuinely explores how ideas at the heart of liberalism can...
[IMG: lib reform booklet - liberator review] Last September, I helped Liberal Reform put together a collection of 20 essays, 'Coalition and Beyond: Liberal Reforms for the Decade Ahead', with a foreword by Nick Clegg. [IMG: Lib Reform book] You can read it in full and free online here. It's just been reviewed by David Grace – who enjoys the splendid moniker, Disgruntled Radical – for Liberator (the magazine and Liberal Reform are not natural bedfellows). And very fair it is, too. It;s not available to read online yet so here – in true book review form – are a ...
Here's some of the articles that have caught my attention in the past couple of days... Lib Dem Party Animals W/E 31 January Behind the scenes gossip on the Lib Dem dep leadership election and Portsmouth's next LD candidate http://bit.ly/1dhdbQi Mike Hancock's role on Portsmouth City Council cabinet hangs in balance yet again – Portsmouth News Interesting on how Portsmouth LibDems are trying/failing to handle the fall-out from allegations against Mike Hancock http://bit.ly/1fkmuSc Demolition men; or the quiet value of craven spending. | Hopi Sen Excellent analysis by Hopi Sen of the trend in net house-building (ie, new homes built ...
This story from Ireland highlights a number of issues. Obviously there is a lot about this case (I am not aware of the case myself) which is not known. In essence, however, it confirms my advice that the authorities in Ireland will apply to take children into care at the request of English authorities whether or not they would ordinarily take the children into care were they not to be English
I have finally got round to looking up the programme which Lembit Opik was making last month when he interviewed me on the street in London. It's on Press TV and is worth a watch: [IMG: Post to Twitter] Tweet This Post
One Man Has Written Virtually Every Major Pop Song Of The Last 20 Years. And You've Probably Never Heard His Name | Celebrity Net Worth (tags: ) Metal band Skinny Puppy send US government invoice after finding out their music was 'used as torture device in Guantanamo Bay' - Weird News - News - The Independent (tags: ) Man sanctioned for failure to complete work capability assessment after having heart attack during it (tags: ) [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
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. Some 750 party members responded – thank you – and we've been publishing the full results. (There were a couple of results I ran out of time to publish during the Christmas holiday period - I'm publishing them this week.) Yesterday I reported the results of what party members think about school structures. Today we look at your views on teachers and the curriculum... 59% of Lib Dems say teachers employed by ...
I had intended to leave the subject of Pentecostalism but then I was reminded of an article on the Prosperity Gospel I read a few years back. In some of my previous posts I had presented a pretty favourable view of the impact of the doctrine. This piece from the Atlantic by Hanna Rosin is [...]
Amy Leach From Sheena Wellington: Wighton Heritage Centre (Central Library), Lunchtime Recital, Wednesday 5th February 2014 : 1.15pm-1.45pm. First Friends of Wighton Lunchtime Recital of the year will feature the fine young singer, Amy Leach. Amy Leach is from Edinburgh, now living and studying in Newcastle upon Tyne. She grew up singing through the Edinburgh Youth Gaitherin and particularly enjoys singing the muckle sangs. She will graduate this year from the Folk and Traditional Music BMus at Newcastle University - and hopes to sing and write about ballads for the foreseeable future. Admission free, donations welcome!
Inam concerned at reports that the current school banding system is to be supplemented by yet another categorisation scheme. I have always been critical of the school banding system as I believe it is a crude and unsubtle means of measuring school performance. The Welsh Government needs to be clear about its intentions. The last thing the education system in Wales needs is a third categorisation system. Parents and education professionals need clarity and simplicity, not duplication. If a new system comes in, then banding must go. The Welsh Labour government can't keep the current banding system purely because they ...
[IMG: Policy Unpacked logo] The issues of housing shortage and increasing housing supply feature prominently in current debates over how to deal with the UK housing crisis. Housing analysts often seek to place these urgent policy problems in the context of the longstanding issue of excess volatility in the UK housing market, and alongside an exploration of how we might make better use of the existing housing stock. In this podcast I discuss a range of issues around housing supply with Ken Gibb, Professor of Housing Economics at the University of Glasgow and Director of Policy Scotland. (Running time: 45′ ...
