This evening, I was pleased to attend the Friends of Magdalen Green Public Lecture & AGM at Dundee West Church. An interesting and entertaining address was given by Murray Nicoll of the Tay Valley Family History Society on West End connections to the Tay Rail Bridge Disaster - a couple of photos below: Murray Nicoll addresses the meeting Part of the audience tonight Angela Mehlert, having served her full term of four years as Chair stood down as did I as Secretary, a post I have also held for the past four years. The new Chair is Catherine Fairweather and ...
Dundee City Council has promised to ensure a permanent solution to the broken electronic doors at its headquarters will be implemented by the end of May. As I indicated on Wave 102 News, I had raised constituents' complaints that the electronic doors at Dundee House have been out of action very regularly recently and it's a real difficulty in particular for elderly people and people with disabilities as the manual doors are quite heavy and not that easy to operate. It is extremely difficult for someone with a pram or in a mobility scooter or wheelchair to use the manual ...
You may also enjoy the District, the Central, the Jubilee, the Northern, the Bakerloo, the Piccadilly and the Victoria. Then again, you may not.
"Tesco is set to get the go-ahead for a superstore on the edge of Market Harborough," reports the Leicester Mercury. The paper says Harborough District Council's planning officers have recommended approval of the scheme. I think this is bad news for the town. As I blogged last September: It's not that I am a rabid opponent of supermarkets. I do a lot of my shopping in them and believe that Market Harborough is thriving because it has a good balance of national chains and small local shops. When I was a councillor more than one older voter told me that ...
Imagine. Imagine it might be possible to set aside the great lie of economic strategy (trickle down patently doesn't trickle; it hoovers up). Imagine the poorest areas could ride out a world recession. Imagine they were not forced to go cap in hand to big business or big bureaucracy to survive. It is hard to over-estimate the impact on the world, and certainly on the UK, if we could find the techniques we need - to help neighbourhoods survive using their own resources. It will clearly not make them rich, but it may keep them from being poor - and ...
[IMG: 272/365 Outdoor Revision] It's exam time again. Once again, there is potential for sky-high stress levels in teenagers' homes. I don't pretend to have any certain answers, but after a bit of exam parenting experience, there are some themes which appear sensible: 1. The parental role is to provide a comfortable and secure home environment. Focus on providing nice food and lots of reassurance. 2. Teenagers should be given a reasonable amount of leeway to find their own niche or niches in life. It's important that they start to find a way of life which makes them happy. That ...
[IMG: Manhattan Central Park - Imagine Mosaic] This week the BNP released its party political broadcast in the run-up to May's local council and European elections. The BNP youth has also made its own poisonous contribution to the debate. The BNP have released a hurriedly edited version following complaints from the BBC that the broadcast did not meet its editorial guidelines, which state that such broadcasts have: An obligation to observe the law (for example on libel, copyright and incitement to racial hatred and violence) and [must follow] the BBC Editorial Guidelines on harm and offence. The BBC evidently did ...
UKIP MEPs abstained on flood prevention measures, too. There is more here.
More comedy genius from Australia's Clarke and Dawe: You can also watch this on YouTube.
Wed 14th
15:58
New Liberal Democrat campaign video: Powerful stuff, but we need Part 2 - why you should vote Libera...
This is the latest campaign video released today by the Liberal Democrats. It's certainly powerful stuff. It's heavy on the horrors of UKIP, so much so that I wanted to have a shower after I'd watched it. It's not nice watching a man say that a husband has the right to rape his wife. It doesn't do much to make me feel like he thinks I'm his equal. Yesterday's revelations that one UKIP candidate thinks that the Great Reform Act of 1832 was a step too far came too late for inclusion, but it's a pretty comprehensive roundup of fruitcakery, ...
With 1 week to go It 's the final literature push and peak. Start on pre-knocking. Focus on key groups eg Squeeze or switch THINGS TO DO THIS WEEK Pre- Knock your shuttleworth Deliver Final Weekend Leaflet Deliver Blue letters if not already done. Deliver 4S target mailings Deliver good mornings/good evenings Get you posters [...]
I am starting to feel like the official chronicler of Welsh Tory strife, indeed a number of their AMs seem uncomfortable with my interest. Nevertheless, in the interests of completeness and transparency I thought it worth referring to the latest episode in the soap opera that is Andrew R.T. Davies' leadership. Today's South Wales Argus reports that the sacked chair of the Enterprise and Business Committee is continuing to agitate about his dismissal. He tells the paper that the leader of the Assembly Tories shouldn't have been allowed to sack him from the chairmanship of an Assembly committee. More interestingly ...
[IMG: Instagram and other Social Media Apps] Imagine you're in a loving relationship with someone. In the context of that relationship, you allowed some personal, intimate photographs to be taken that were only for your private enjoyment. Then you split up and, to your horror, find that those private photographs have been put up on the internet for all to see as an act of revenge by your former lover. That's got to be illegal, right? Effectively, it's a form of abuse perpetrated mainly but not exclusively) by men against women, after all. Actually, it isn't, as one friend of ...
Local people were concerned for the future of the old police station when they learnt that the police would be moving out of their premises on Stafford Road in Wallington, so Colin & I got the building locally listed to give it some additional protection from development. We were therefore very pleased to learn that [...]
One of the reasons I've been a little quieter on here than usual is because I've been devoting most of my efforts to the first Ergonomics module assignment. The deadline passed a little earlier on today and I did manage to submit it several hours beforehand, but it was a very, very long weekend making sure that I had something to hand in. From my perspective, a large proportion of the effort I needed to put in seemed to be spent on getting the assignment under the word count limit. I knew I was in trouble when half of the ...
Election day 2014. First consider the strategy across your authority. It's pointless running a polling day of military precision stacking up votes in a safe ward. Talk to your strategy committee (or supremo) about what help you can expect to get from others or that you will be expected to give and construct your plans [...]
Wed 14th
13:31Greg Mulholland MP writes...Support my gruelling 20,000 ft climb to raise £10k for Royal Briti...
[IMG: Cotopaxi in the clear] At the end of May, I am joining serving and former soldiers and two other MPs in trying to tackle one of the world's highest volcanoes, Cotopaxi in Ecuador at 19,347 feet. I am taking on this tough challenge to raise awareness of the Royal British Legion Battle Back Centre, the national rehabilitation centre which provides adaptive sports and adventurous training for injured servicemen and women. The Battle Back Centre helps achieve the best possible recovery and either return to service duty or make a smooth transition to civilian life. Coaching is provided by Leeds ...
[IMG: Fruitcake] Nick Clegg did a further Twitter Town Hall session yesterday. I did a quick Storify thingy. The order is not quite right because of some technological gremlins I am not clever enough to sort, but I think all the questions are there. There's also a beautifully illustrated piece in the Independent which you might like to have a look at. There's quite a good balance between banter and serious questions and he's actually quite good with the quick fire summarising in 140 characters. It's not easy to do, especially as he can be over-wordy at other times. [View ...
Last night's debate in the Lords may - for once - fully justify the plaudits we get from the fan club for "wise, eloquent and dispassionate" discussion, contrasting with the hurly-burly at the Commons end of the building. The subject? "Constitutional Implications of Coalition Government" may not sound that enticing (please stifle that yawn!), but I invite you to take a closer look. For example, there were very thoughtful exchanges on the legitimacy of the increasingly multi-party nature of the Commons in recent decades. The Committee Report we were debating summed this up neatly: "trends in voting behaviour, with fewer ...
A huge pile of rubbish in the centre of Ludlow is to be cleared after councillors asked the Environment Agency to take action. Ludlow Skip Hire Ltd recently took over the waste transfer site on Temeside. The site is only licenced for storing 66 tonnes of waste but it has many times that volume at [...]
According to this short video from Nerdist his physiology would rapidly self destruct: Filed under: Uncategorized
[IMG: David-Cameron-PMQs-007] Verdict: Cameron wins, by a country mile Review: I really can't believe that Miliband just asked six questions about the AstraZeneca takeover. I'm stunned. He wanted to avoid the economy - fair enough given the double whammy of the announcement from the OECD about above trend growth and unemployment figures falling, plus the fact that he'd pummelled a less than stellar Cameron on the topic last week - but come on. One, this isn't an issue that has resonated with the public particularly and two, it's too close to the subject of the economy to be an effective ...
Just had a second slice, it hadn't quite finished setting before I turned in last night so a very late pudding. Based, loosely, on two recipe's in Mary Berry's Baking Bible but with a few variants of my own. Ingredients: The base: Half a packet of Tesco Value Ginger Nuts (150g) 2 ounces butter (I used Tesco own brand salted, that's about 1/5th a pack). 1 ounce brown sugar (any will do, recipe calls for demerara, I used light brown baking sugar). The Topping: 4/5ths a pack of Tesco Full Fat soft cheese (about 175g) 150 ml double cream (I ...
[IMG: Brazil v Scotland 22] As an outsider, analysis about September's Scottish Independence Referendum is something of a minefield. There is space to constructively critique the SNP's proposals, but needs to recognise that I don't have a vote, and that Lord Robertson-style hyperbole about a Scottish "cataclysm" is not just offensive - and for unionists, counterproductive - it is inaccurate, too. So let me begin by making clear that in my CentreForum paper analysing Scottish independence published today, I believe that Scotland is perfectly capable of becoming an independent country. But let me also be clear that as currently promoted, ...
[IMG: My mother] In Sunday's Observer, Norman Lamb wrote about the importance of the Dementia Friends initiative. He starts by describing a situation that's becoming all to common for people with Dementia and their carers: It is four o'clock in the morning. A man has been roused from an already fitful sleep by his wife. She is upset and confused. And she has wet the bed. He has to comfort her and change the sheets at the same time. Eventually he is able to return to bed and get a little bit of rest before his wife wakes up again. ...
Stockport's Love Your Market events this weekend promise to be the biggest in the town for a generation.
For those who have local elections this week, the agents will now be putting in their lists of count scrutineers. This is a job which needs to be taken seriously. Being a scrutineer is not an opportunity for a social gathering and a bit of fun. It is serious and scrutineers need to be selected [...]
Healthwatch, the charitable body set up to champion the consumer in healthcare, holds drop-ins every month in Consett Library, from 9.30 till 11.30 every first Tuesday of the month. The next one is therefore Tuesday June 3rd from 9.30 – 11.30. What follows is their own description of what the drop-in offers: Drop-in points provide a single point of contact to help you find information about Health and Social Care choices. Our trained staff can; Provide information on health and local services to enable people to make an informed decision or choice Listen to concerns and refer to ...
In his excellent paper on Taxation in Wales, Gerry Holtham describes council tax as the 'misbegotten offspring of political misjudgement and political cowardice'. As a Councillor in the late 1980s and the early 1990s I know what he means. Driven by the belief that everybody should pay the same amount for local services, Margaret Thatcher's Government introduced the poll tax with disastrous consequences for their own popularity and for local councils. Nothing would ever be the same again, least of all the previously excellent collection rates for property rates, which plummeted as people withheld payment on principle or simply because ...
Deep down, every Labour MP knows Miliband is heading for defeat Stunning stuff from Dan Hodges. Again. (tags: ) Ukip candidate: Remove the vote from people to make elections 'more interesting' - Politics - News - London Evening Standard I've often heard politicians joke that universal suffrage was a bad idea, but this guy appears to actually be serious... (tags: ) Outsourcing companies aren't trusted - Liberal Democrats must show they are taking a stand (tags: ) votematch europe - see who you should vote for on policies OfC this assumes you trust the various parties to stick to their ...
My Flickr site has just reached a milestone. My photos have now been viewed one million times. I have a total of 6000 pictures on the site. Most nowadays are of my horticultural activities but my travel photos, and those I take for local campaigning, are added to the site as well. So, if you really have nothing else to do and want to see pictures of my hens, beekeeping activities, stuffed
At https://twitter.com/alandwinter my most popular tweet of the week was this one about the police cutting back.
On Saturday morning Cllr. Bloggs will be sitting in her lounge looking at a large pile of final weekend leaflets, wondering what to do with the target letters that one of her deliverers has just returned undelivered, and trying to work out how to fit her canvassing in as well. The phone rings. "Oh no," [...]
Wed 14th
09:32Michael Moore MP's Road to Referendum: "A mutual meeting point between two nations, rather than an i...
[IMG: September 14th "Welcome to Scotland"] There was cross-party agreement last week in the House of Commons after I, alongside Conservative MP for Penrith and the Border Rory Stewart, made the case for United Kingdom cross-border unity at Scottish Questions. Alongside Mr Stewart, I asked specifically about what independence would mean for Border constituencies. The future shape of Scotland, and the very existence of the United Kingdom, is at stake in the forthcoming referendum. If Scotland were to leave the United Kingdom, the Border constituencies would be the first to feel the effects of an international border. There are no ...
Are you, or do you know, a young person who would like to help children to enjoy reading? Every summer, South Glos libraries run a Summer Reading Challenge to encourage children to keep reading during the holidays. Over 7000 took part last year. South Glos is currently looking for volunteers to get involved in a variety of activities from talking to children about the books they are reading and helping them to choose what to read next, to helping with the summer activities and creating displays in the library. The closing date for applications is Monday 16 June. Volunteers must ...
You've got to love this headline from the Yorkshire Post: [IMG: Vince blokes takeover] In the article, Vince is reported as telling the Commons Business Committee that he and the government were prepared to intervene over Pfizer's planned takeover of Astra Zeneca, emphasising how important it was to protect the research base in the UK. He said: Yes, we work as a team and my colleagues have made very clear that, like me, they want options kept open. We recognise that we have to keep the options open both in terms of securing assurances and potentially of intervention. There are ...
The Urban Cycling Centre and National Cycle Academy, which are based in Prestwich in Phillips Park are once again running courses and a summer school aimed to help children learn and make the most of cycling. [IMG: Screenshot 2014-05-13 08.09.15] These sessions run through May and June in St Mary's Park. They are £5 a session and NCA provide the bike, helmet and gloves. The NCA Summer Camp is back in Phillips Park this summer – we are advised to book early as 2013 was a 'sell out'. The summer school runs from 28 July – 24 August 2014. More ...
Wed 14th
08:25
There's rather more to the story of 'police call on someone who tweeted criticism of UKIP'
[IMG: Twitter logo] The understandable instant sense of outrage (which I shared) at hearing reports of the police calling round in person on someone who tweeted some factual criticisms of UKIP, and suggesting he delete the tweet, has rather clouded the details of what actually happened and why. It also means that those who really are to blame for the story haven't been mentioned, let alone criticised. So what's the full story? The key thing missing in nearly all – but not quite all – accounts is that UKIP's original grounds of complaint was that something was circulating online criticising ...
[IMG: rsz_southport_040] Trams died out across the UK in the 1940′s and 50′s but Southport's Pier Tram has continued to serve holiday makers and anyone else who wants to ride on a tram along the Town's famously long pier. Blackpool may well be famous for its trams and places like Southport must very much regret letting theirs go. [IMG: rsz_southport_038] Of course trams are making a big come back in some major cities such as Sheffield, Manchester, Nottingham and Edinburgh and in Sunny Southport its Lib Dem councillors want to extend the tram to Southport Railway Station. A good read ...
Today's Times highlights the way that UKIP use the candidate process to raise money for the party. The paper quotes the party's former deputy leader, who alleges that UKIP are forcing MEPs to donate large sums and threaten to bar those who refuse from standing again. They say tbat Ex-Ukip insiders also raised concerns before this month's European elections that the party favour wealthy MEP candidates. They say that an analysis of Electoral Commission records showed that two leading candidates for the May 22 poll, and the partner of a third, donated or lent the party tens of thousands of ...
Every East Dulwich local election we propose some of the top 6 things we plan to fix over the next 4 years – the length of local councillor terms in office. We, Councillor Jonathan Mitchell, Councillor Rosie Shimell and I undertook a massive survey of East Dulwich which helped us focus on what people thought our area needed the most. So we are really excited to propose in 2014 that we commit to: 1. Build two new schools to ensure enough great local school places. 2. New local Police base in East Dulwich.. 3. New grove Vale library. 4. Cleaner ...
The latest binge drinking panic is upon us thanks to a report by the World Health Organisation. "Shekhar Saxena, director for mental health and substance abuse at the WHO, said: "We found that worldwide about 16 percent of drinkers engage in heavy episodic drinking - often referred to as 'binge-drinking' - which is the most harmful to health."In the UK, the percentage was almost twice as high, with 28 per cent of those aged 15 and over drinking as much.The research found that in the UK, 35.5 per cent of men, and 20.9 per cent of women, had drunk six ...
