The success of the Beach Boys and Jan and Dean had not gone unnoticed, and every musician with an eye for what was hot was soon cutting their own surf and hot rod tunes. Among the earliest were the Rip Chords...sort of. The Rip Chords were a vocal duo, Ernie Bridges and Phil Stewart, who [...]
Wed 23rd
22:30
National Minority status for the Cornish - a massive Lib Dem win and a win for Cornwall
Tomorrow, the government will announce that National Minority Status has been given to the Cornish people, under the Council of Europe's Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities. Liberal Democrat Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander will make the announcement. He is joining North Cornwall MP Dan Rogerson in Bodmin to meet with representatives of cultural organisations in the Duchy including the Cornish Gorsedh and Maga, the Cornish Language Partnership, to discuss the announcement and the importance of Cornwall's culture and identity to the local economy. Dan has been the driving force behind the move for national minority ...
Twelve Liberal MPs were elected at the 1966 general election. This photograph shows 11 of them. Can you name them (saying where they appear in the line up, please) and the missing 12th man? Over to you in the comments, readers.
A Thorn in Their Side Robert Green John Blake, 2013, £7.99 A mystery set in Shropshire? A mystery in which new developments occur through articles in the Shropshire Star? A Thorn in Their Side is a book for me. I even talked to a BBC Radio Shropshire journalist who gets a mention in the days when I acted as a press office for the Malcolm Saville Society. Older readers will remember the story of Hilda Murrell. In 1984 she was abducted from her Shrewsbury home and later found dead in a field outside the town. All sorts of theories surrounded ...
Wed 23rd
21:51
"Methinks I am a prophet new inspired And thus expiring do foretell of him: His rash fierce blaze of...
"Methinks I am a prophet new inspired And thus expiring do foretell of him: His rash fierce blaze of riot cannot last, For violent fires soon burn out themselves; Small showers last long, but sudden storms are short; He tires betimes that spurs too fast betimes; With eager feeding food doth choke the feeder: Light vanity, insatiate cormorant, Consuming means, soon preys upon itself. This royal throne of kings, this scepter'd isle, This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars, This other Eden, demi-paradise, This fortress built by Nature for herself Against infection and the hand of war, This happy ...
[IMG: image] The BBC's adaptation of Daphne du Maurier's Jamaica Inn has been exceptionally good. The acting is superb. The atmospherics of the photography and music are exquisite. They have done justice to the hardest-edged element of the du Maurier oevre. 800ish people complained about the sound on the first episode's broadcast. "Mumbling" was mentioned. In fact, all the actors' diction is extremely clear. There is one exception. Sean Harris as Joss Merlyn is rather throaty. In fact, he is a great actor and his performance in this is exceedingly fine. You don't have to understand every word he says. ...
A number of "No Waiting at Any Time" restrictions are proposed for the area around the new Academy and Leisure Centre which I show below. I am asked to provide comments by May 9th and will be pleased to receive any from readers. Many of them simply look like common sense but there are a few areas where they will create real inconvenience for residents. The quality of these illustrations may be inadequate for your needs – if so please just email me and I'll return a better PDF copy to you. Villa Real Road: [IMG: Double Yellows Villa Real] ...
[IMG: image] The appointment of Obama's strategist David Axelrod to advise the Labour Party has prompted the Standard to take a look at the digital operations of the three main parties. All three are looking to the success of the Obama campaign's collection and use of data. We know that the most effective digital campaigners are those who spend most of their time on the doorsteps. Jo Swinson was a Twitter pioneer, as was Willie Rennie and we know how much time Tim Farron spends on there. These three share a massive commitment and getting out and talking to people ...
Liberal Democrats in government have really focused on providing the Pupil Premium for schools to help ensure that more pupils are able to achieve higher standards. Earlier this month it rose to become £1,300 per pupil. The Pupil Premium provides schools with extra money to help children from disadvantaged backgrounds. This will help whole classes move forward faster together. It has been increased to £1,300 per eligible primary school pupil in 2014/15, up from £900 per child last year. That's likely to be an extra £734,500 for primary schools in East Dulwich. East Dulwich ward Goodrich Community Primary School 302 ...
[IMG: lorely-outside-parliament-1 lorely burt] Vince Cable has appointed Lorely Burt to a new role aimed at promoting and supporting female entrepreneurs. From the Yorkshire Post: Liberal Democrat MP Lorely Burt will help women-led businesses to understand the help available to their new and growing firms. She started her career in the prison service and rose to become assistant governor at HMP Holloway, a tough female-only prison in North London. Ms Burt later worked for companies including Beecham and Europcar in the field of personnel and training before setting up her own training company. Mr Cable said: "Lorely will bring a ...
MP's websites are normally firmly on the horrible spectrum, but http://briandonohoemp.co.uk/ takes this to a whole new level, coming at you straight out of 1997, animations and all. This is possibly the worst website I've seen since Geocities stopped being a thing http://t.co/X1bDpjKBvO — Martin Hoscik (@Martin_Hoscik) April 23, 2014 [IMG: Screen Shot 2014-04-23 at 18.03.44] Given how easy using a platform like WordPress is, it really isn't acceptable for MPs to present themselves to the web, and the world, in this way. What would you think if you were a young voter, preparing to engage in politics for the ...
From the Curator of Museum Services at the University of Dundee : 2014 marks the 20th anniversary of the University's public museum service, and as part of our celebrations we are hosting a regular series of short talks focusing on some of our most interesting and unusual objects. The next event will be on Friday 25th April at 1.15pm and will feature 10 minute talks from curator Matthew Jarron and student volunteers Hannah Vickery and Madeline Dow. Hannah's talk focuses on a narwhal tusk in the Dental School's unique comparative anatomy collection of animal teeth and jaws. Madeline looks at ...
In the run up to the local and European elections many residents in our seven town centres will be making the decision as to how they might vote. The coalition government with Vince Cable's assistance has turned around the economy with not only growth, lower levels of inflation and importantly more jobs. Councillor Gary Malcolm Locally while more people are gaining employment we see the current Labour administration continue to fail in a number of areas: Closing day centres which means that many profoundly disabled or other vulnerable residents will sufferOver the past few years it was reported that Ealing ...
[IMG: Policy Unpacked logo] Since the Global Financial Crisis questions have been asked about the adequacy of dominant approaches to economic analysis. Are they sufficient to help us understand the economy or do they need supplementing or reformulating? This is an important question for policy not simply because of the debate over austerity but also because economic ideas and arguments are increasingly influential when seeking to shape, justify or change policy more generally. Students at a number of British universities have sought to question whether the economics curriculum they are offered for their undergraduate degree is adequate. This week the ...
In just 24 hours nominations will have closed for the local and european elections on May 22nd. If you leave it too late then there won't be time to fix any mistakes and you won't be able to stand. Don't forget that the absolute final deadline is 4pm, tomorrow, Thursday 24th April. Returning officers have [...]
Labour are always quick to criticise the Lib Dems for their lack of diversity, but this campaign team so gleefully shown off by Tom Watson hardly looks particularly diverse. Not a woman in sight, and the former election supremo seems pleased about it! This all male #labourdoorstep team is motoring today. pic.twitter.com/3NSzz5HMhO — tom_watson (@tom_watson) April 23, 2014
Yesterday Ukip published billboards designed to scare people about the impact that being in Europe has on immigration. The Liberal Democrats believe that it is right to tackle concerns about immigration, but spreading fear and bogus claims is not the answer. Instead, we are working to deliver better immigration checks and more job opportunities. That's why we have created 1.6 million apprenticeships, helping young people in Britain find work. We believe it's time to tell the truth about immigration.
[IMG: tony-blair] Blair is on one of his very occasional visits to these fair isles, this time round to give a speech at Bloomberg about the threat of radical Islam. In the oration, he said he thinks western governments need to "elevate the issue of religious extremism to the top of the agenda". I don't really see how that hasn't been the case already for the last decade and a half, but there you go. So far, nothing new; this has been Tony Blair's standard shtick for some time now. It was what he said further along that interested me. ...
[IMG: 2008 - Evopod 1/10th Sea Trials @ Portaferry] Today I have announced the award of 8 new contracts for renewable electricity projects which will provide around £12 billion of private sector investment and once built will contribute around 4% of Britain's electricity capacity. These projects will support 8500 jobs and our overall electricity reform plans will generate over 200,000 green jobs. These projects and the jobs created will be across Britain - from the Moray Firth to Liverpool Bay and from Teesside to Norfolk. Five of the projects are for offshore wind power generation - further reinforcing the UK's ...
Here's an intriguing graph via the economist Simon Wren-Lewis: [IMG: UK first time buyer mortgage payments as a percentage of mean disposable income. Source: Nationwide] UK First time buyer mortgage payments as a percentage of mean disposable income. Source: Nationwide Outside London in particular, house prices don't look so bubble like after all – when you factor in people's ability to pay for them, which has been hugely increased by the low interest rates we've been seeing. In one respect this shows the brittle nature of our economy – think how damaging a global bout of inflation driving up interest ...
Meols Ward Lib Dem Councillors John Dodd, Nigel Ashton and David Rimmer, together with local candidate Jo Barton, are holding their next advice centre in Churchtown. We will be at Cafe Moo Moo on Cambridge Road (by the junction with Preston New Road, next to Boots) from 10:30 to 11:30 am on Thursday 24th April. We will be there to meet you and discuss any Council problems you may have. No appointment necessary. Just pop in. We also hold a monthly advice centre in Crossens, at St John's School, Rufford Road, Crossens every month (except August) on the second Saturday ...
Wed 23rd
13:25
Opinion: 3 days on Rebels and Radicals - a review of the Political Studies Association Conference
[IMG: Che Guevara - Some rights reserved by StreetFly JZ] This year's annual conference of the Political Studies Association (PSA) was held in Manchester, with the theme of Rebels and Radicals. For three days last week, PSA members attended panels, caught up with colleagues and drained the city's bars. The conference, as ever, as is a fantastic place to take stock of evolving research and teaching practice across the discipline, meeting up with fellow academics at all stages of their careers to swap ideas and catch up. As last year, though, this hotbed of thought on politics, much of it ...
BBC News reported today that 'violent crime is continuing a long-term fall in England and Wales, according to annual figures from NHS hospitals. There was a 12% fall in injuries from violent incidents in 2013, according to data from almost a third of emergency departments examined by Cardiff University'. This is another significant drop from [...]
I have decided to express publicly some concerns I feel about local democracy. Very sadly, insufficient numbers of women put themselves forward to be elected onto Cornwall Council. I suspect the reasons for this are complicated and some-one could do some extensive research, if they have not already! As a result, and this is obvious really, there are too few women in the Cornwall Council Chamber. Out of 123 Councillors only 29 are women – that is 23.5%. Don't get me wrong, I am not blaming men for this but I fear that the lack of women there does not ...
It is William Shakespeare's 450th birthday and the Independent has marked the occasion by highlighting a handful of well-used (and in some cases, surprising) sayings that come courtesy of Shakespeare: - "For goodness sake" - Henry VIII - "Neither here not there" - Othello - "Mum's the word" - Henry VI, Part II - "Eaten out of house and home" - Henry IV, Part II - "Rant" - Hamlet - "Knock knock! Who's there?" - Macbeth - "All's well that ends well" - All's Well That Ends Well - "With bated breath" - The Merchant of Venice - "A wild ...
My current ISP is Virgin Media. They get a lot of stick for being a bit useless - but I can't fault the speed of my domestic connection. They recently upgraded me for free to 152Mbps downsteam (and a less impressive 12Mbps up). As part of this upgrade, they sent me an email stating: now that your broadband has been supercharged, on the house, why not put it to the test? You've got the UK's fastest widely available broadband speed which is 12x faster than Sky and BT's regular broadband^, so get your friends over with their tablets, phones and ...
[IMG: image] The internet has made life a lot easier in many ways for many people - I can hardly imagine a time when I wasn't able to make online bank transfers, get a grocery shop delivered or book a holiday online. However, as we all spend more time online and use the internet to do increasing numbers of things, new problems and challenges arise which we have to address. People deserve the same protection online as they get offline, and we need to make sure that we have the ability and resources to ensure this is the case. Unfortunately, ...
In just over 24 hours nominations will have closed for the local and european elections on May 22nd. If you leave it too late then there won't be time to fix any mistakes and you won't be able to stand. Don't forget that the absolute final deadline is 4pm, tomorrow, Thursday 24th April. Returning officers [...]
UKIP's ability to be consistently inconsistent is well noted, and includes taking huge tax payer funded salaries for sitting in a Parliament they don't believe in. Last night Nigel Farage was at a rally of party supporters, so naturally there was all sort of fun raising malarky. Including a prize draw. The prize? A holiday in Brussels, home of the EU. Ukip holding prize draw for supporters in Sheffield. Prize: a holiday in Brussels — Michael Deacon (@MichaelPDeacon) April 22, 2014
[IMG: Lembit Opik] Edition #46 of Liberal Democrat Newswire came out last week, including pieces looking at the Liberal Democrat prospects in May, how polling on the EU is turning out rather well for pro-Europeans and the unlikely choice of Lembit Opik as a role model by Jeremy Browne. It's now also available online to read here. If you would like to receive the next edition of Liberal Democrat Newswire direct to your own inbox as soon as it is published, just sign up here. It's free! You can unsubscribe whenever you want using the link on the bottom of ...
There appears to have been yet another bust up in the Labour party in Gateshead, this time in Saltwell, the ward of the Labour Leader Mick Henry, so my contacts inform me. Mick's ward colleague Joe Mitchison has been dumped as candidate. Joe is one of those people who you just can't help but like if you are not in the Labour party (though it seems that does not stretch to all Labour members
[IMG: manufacturing - Some rights reserved by I-5 Design and Manufacture] Manufacturing has been something I have been passionate about for years now. When I was MP for Rochdale I helped to set up the all party manufacturing group in the House of Commons and then when I became MEP for the West Midlands region I jointly set up the Manufacturing Forum in the European Parliament. I have represented two areas where manufacturing has been so important. In my view, it is even more relevant today in helping to rebalance the economy and to create jobs. Manufacturing accounts for 46% ...
Refusal to face the realities of migration opens the door to racism (tags: ) Senator Richard Blumenthal almost hit by train during railway safety speech I know you shouldn't laugh, but... (tags: ) Appeal to record wildlife sightings to help Yorkshire wildlife trust (tags: ) [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
If you want to comment on the effects of the suspension of bus lanes in Liverpool, you've only got a few more days to do it. The deadline is 28th April. You can send in comments by letter or e mail. Here are the key details taken from the City Council website . By Post to:- Jeanette McLoughlin, City Solicitor, Legal Services, Municipal Buildings, Dale Street, Liverpool L2 2DH By email to:- Legal.Planning@liverpool.gov.uk Please quote reference LS/P&EU/NRB/ETRO 8087B/TM 3149/2052.1268 in all correspondence.
The state of St Mary's Road is one of the things people raise with us most often. It's been great to see the bits of individual enterprise that look to bring unused shops back into use. But there are still problems which the Council seems to view as "not a lot to do with us guv". So here's an update on various bits and pieces. People who know Garston will know that the Sports Bar is in the process of changing into a restaurant and take away. The sign is up and passers by can spot quite a bit of ...
[IMG: elephants - Some rights reserved by Colin the Scot] Yesterday, I was delighted to receive the latest Liberal Democrat members' survey and I quickly completed it. Once I actually read the questions, though, some things made me snort with rage. I would be very surprised if they were able to glean any meaningful data from what they asked. Yes, they may well get a few decent press releases out of "Lib Dem Members' favourite achievements in Government" or favourite things that we have stopped the Tories doing that will be covered only on the Lib Dem website and scant ...
[IMG: Workers bankers london bridge - some rights reserved by zoonabar] Over 4 million British jobs depend on exports to the Single Market. Those are the words of the Centre for Economic and Business Research regarding their recent report into British Jobs and the Single Market. When we talk about this issue UKIP and the Tory Right throw around words like "liar". When people do that it usually means they have lost the argument. UKIP appear to be temperamentally unable of reasoned debate grounded in the evidence. Their leaders are like children who cover their ears and say "I can't ...
In the end the Ukip poster launch yesterday was hijacked by the BBC's Nick Robinson who confronted Nigel Farage with the £2 million questions. The key one was why, when he is warning that millions of Europeans are waiting to take our jobs, is Mr. Farage employing a German as his secretary? The German is question is his wfie, which raises yet more questions of course about employing family members and what process was used to select staff? Interestingly Farage's answer was that only his wife Kirsten would be prepared to work unsociable hours, seven days a week, helping him ...
Last year, I reported on progress with the proposal for a cremated remains section in Western Cemetery that the Western Cemetery Association has championed, with support from the City Council. As there has, as yet, been no interments of sales of the lairs for urns, I asked the City Council's Head of Environmental Management for an update on steps the council is taking to ensure local undertakers are aware of the cremated remains section. He has advised me that: "... we have had our annual meeting with the undertakers and the urn area at the Western was discussed. So they ...
There have been a quite a number of public protests in recent years across the Borough of Sefton against things like:- The Post Office closure programme pursued under the last Labour Government which saw Maghull and Lydiate having 4 Post Offices axed:- Below are Lib Dem protestors fighting for the former Coronation Road Post Road Post Office in Lydiate. [IMG: Labour-run Sefton Council's plan to close public toilets across the Borough. This fight was won by campaigners like those pictured below:- [IMG: rsz_toilet_campaign_02_13_lab] Labour's £46 Green Bin tax for Sefton. This was fought off in the Summer of 2013 ...
The Western Mail reports that the Welsh Government has been accused of reneging on its word and breaching budget commitments after leaked documents suggested ringfenced funding designed to support Wales' poorest pupils will be used to meet its education spending promise:. Pressure from the Liberal Democrats and Plaid Cymru secured an extra £35m for the Pupil Deprivation Grant (PDG), which will be distributed among schools this year and see an additional £918 allocated to pupils eligible for free school meals. Education Minister Huw Lewis has threatened to "claw back" from schools that ignore guidance on how best to use the ...
World Book Night is a celebration of reading and books which sees tens of thousands of volunteers gift specially chosen and printed World Book Night books in their communities to share their love of reading. Last year, over 5000 books were given out across Cambridgeshire, thanks to 270 volunteers. This year, Cambridgeshire libraries are once again being used as pick up points. Visit your local library to find out more about the 20 World Book Night 2014 titles being collected and handed out, from authors such as Nora Roberts, John Grisham and Adele Parks.
The Canadian tax year runs from 1st January to 31st December, but tax-payers have until 30th April to make their return. I completed ours yesterday. It is a complicated process, because separate calculations have to be made for the Federal and the Provincial taxes, and both give taxpayers allowances for all sorts of things that [...]
