The Montgomery seems to have been undergoing restoration for ever. This stretch at Welshpool is navigable, but it is not connected to the rest of the canal system.
The Greenwich and Docklands International Festival (GDIF) has relatively quickly established itself as one of Britain's premier outdoor cultural events, all the remarkable because it is FREE. Artistic Director Bradley Hemmings has a keen eye for what's hot in Continental Europe and beyond and the Festival makes brilliant use of the diverse historic and contemporary [...]
From yesterday's Mirror: A key adviser who helped Ed Miliband become Labour leader has quit the party and switched to the Liberal Democrats. Phil Taylor was among the handful of trusted lieutenants who masterminded Mr Miliband's victory over his brother David in their battle for the top job. But Mr Taylor has poured scorn on his old boss since defecting to Nick Clegg's party. The story was also in the Daily Mail, which said of Phil Taylor: He attacked Labour's addiction to spending, saying: 'Labour's view still that absolutely anything with label "capital" slapped on must be so economically beneficial ...
The deficit figures today are disappointing. There are a slew of one-offs, such as the 45p tax change a year ago (see Guardian story). I think some of the story has to be here. A quick X-Y of the NGDP growth vs the growth in Income tax revenues of three distinct periods: The actual [...]
[IMG: Alice, me and the Speaker of Hackney Council, Citizenship Ceremony, Hackney Town Hall, Hackney, London, UK.tif] We haven't really got an immigration policy, have we? – said a hard working party member to me this evening, as she sorted through survey responses listing immigration as a priority issue. Well actually, we have just agreed a very robust and thorough new immigration policy, in full knowledge and acceptance that this is a big issue for people, said I. Dear old Sir Andrew Stunnell and his team beavered away for a couple of years and came up with a robust and ...
Fri 20th
20:35
On a positive note to all England Fans - at least we don't have to put up with the inevitable nail b...
June 20, 2014 at 08:34PM via Facebook
Fri 20th
20:35On a positive note to all England Fans - at least we don't have to put up with the inevitable nail b...
via Facebook
Caron's Musings introduces us to an unsavoury blog being promoted by supporters of Scottish independence. The education debate tends to underplay the importance of resources and overplay the role of management, argues Stumbling and Mumbling. "It is possible to see a way forward to slay the CAP beast, bringing together an unlikely alliance of Eurosceptics, free marketeers, libertarians, agrarians and environmentalists." A New Nature Blog on the case for reform of the European Union's Common Agricultural Policy. Freethinking Economist considers the strange phenomenon that is economic confidence - "We've won the long jump, so let's buy a fridge." "If you ...
[IMG: "Bobby Moore was the best defender in the history of the game" ~ Franz Beckenbauer] Firstly, a geographic note. I am Cornish. Cornwall isn't part of England but our sportspeople play for England. For example, Phil Vickery (and before anyone says it I know he was born in Barnstaple hospital) is from Kilkhampton in Cornwall and captained England. At rugby. Which brings me to football. I have followed every World Cup England campaign since 1970. If you want expectation go back to 1970. We were expected to win the World Cup again. We were the champions after all. Bloody ...
This is going to be a contentious one, so an explanation about my explanation — in this post, I am going to talk about Libertarianism as it pertains to "geek culture", and specifically to SF fandom. When I do so, I am going to generalise hugely. Please remember that I am talking not about Libertarianism [...]
Last night I watched Prof Tom Devine, one of Scotland's greatest living historians, on TV. I like Tom Devine and I like what he has to say. He has as fine an understanding of Scotland and what it is to be Scottish as anyone. Talking about the Independence Referendum we take part in three months from now he said, "This is about the identity and the future of the nation". I agree with Tom Devine on this. He described how a collective sentiment of the people of Scotland as a nation exists. He also described how our sense of Scottishness ...
Some things I've been in to this week: A statue: I tweeted a picture of the John Betjeman statue at London St. Pancras Station last Sunday saying it was one of my favourite statues, and was surprised it was retweeted 20 times by people I don't know (I think it may have something to do [...]
Dear IMS Lettings of Derby, I drive or walk past your building most days. For many months, this is the banner you've been displaying: [IMG: Landlord's ... "Your rent guaranteed every month"] Is it your intention to ask me a question or to make me a promise? Yours, etc.
[IMG: Teacher In Classroom] We've just launched our parent guarantee about ensuring that all state funded schools should only use qualified teaching staff. A great idea, of course we want all teachers to hold a subject related degree and their post-grad certificate in education (PGCE) and their QTS (Qualified Teacher Status). But what about those unqualified teachers already in a teaching role? What about the other staff which support and help educate our children? I personally work in a secondary Academy (years 7-11) which has some non-QTS staff. Most are excellent educators of children and very valued by the academy ...
James Delingpole, from his reactionary "libertarian", yet curiously conservative pulpit, has pronounced that There Is Nothing Wrong With Wanting To Punch Yasmin Alibhai-Brown In The Throat The first is it's ludicrously disproportionate to respond to anyone's political opinions by suggesting you would violently assault them. Apart from being an ad hominem attack (e.g. to suggest Michael Fabricant wouldn't know an ad hominem attack if it stood up and told him his haircut disqualifies his opinions from sensible debate), it's not engaging with the argument. This is far from being the hallmark of a civilized society, in that we should all ...
[IMG: Forth Railway Bridge at North Queensferry Fife Scotland] About two years too late, the Yes Scotland campaign has started to distance itself from controversial pro-independence blog Wings over Scotland, run by a Bath based individual who describes himself as "Rev" Stuart Campbell. The Courier reports that Yes Scotland has asked its Edinburgh Group to stop distributing leaflet that invites people to look at Wings. This is not just an Edinburgh thing though. I don't live in Edinburgh and I had a Yes newspaper delivered with this leaflet inside: [IMG: Wings 1] [IMG: wings 2] Interestingly, the leaflet itself has ...
About two years too late, the Yes Scotland campaign has started to distance itself from controversial pro-independence blog Wings over Scotland, run by a Bath based individual who describes himself as "Rev" Stuart Campbell. The Courier reports that Yes Scotland has ... Continue reading →
In my first two essays in this series about rethinking Liberalism, I kept to my comfort zone of economics. I concluded that we need to retain capitalism as part of a mixed economy, but that we need to develop the language of economics so that policymakers become less obsessed with crude productivity and growth. Now I want to step back and look at what troubles me most about our society, both in Britain and elsewhere: rising public intolerance. In my personal bubble, as a white middle class citizen of British heritage, here in a smart inner London district, it is ...
An evening of remembrance, reflection and commemoration for the local community. All welcome. [IMG: Never Forget Evening poster] Published and promoted by Tim Prater, 98a Sandgate High Street, Folkestone, CT20 3BYPrinted (hosted) by Prater Raines Ltd, 98 Sandgate High Street, Folkestone CT20 3BY
[IMG: Rubbish on Sandgate High Street] Sandgate Councillor Tim Prater has asked Shepway District Council to look into the use of Seagull proof bags for rubbish collections in areas using bin bags. Areas with bin bag rather than wheelie bin collection are often strewn with rubbish on waste collection days as the seagulls attack bags before they are collected. Sandgate High Street is regularly covered in food waste on bin collection days due to Seagull bag attacks, and in recent weeks the problem has been highlighted in a number of streets in Folkestone as well. @shepwaydc Seagulls & bin bag ...
So Mike Fabricant* tweeted a tweet expressing his dislike for Yasmin Alibhai-Brown in colourful and over the top terms. And Twitter exploded. And now he has reluctantly apologised, apparently under threat of having the whip withdrawn**. I am very uncomfortable with this. I quite regularly say that various people give me violent urges. I am - or was - under the impression that everybody knows I never actually would rip someone's head off and spit down their neck, or tear their arm off and beat them to death with the soggy end. Such "threats" are so clearly over the top ...
[IMG: Palestinian Children, Hebron] I attended the conference to 'End Sexual Violence in Conflict' (ESVC) and I was horrified by the true life testimonies of how babies as young as 8 months are raped. I approached the War Child staff at the conference and asked about getting involved in their work. Today is National Refugee Day 2014. The purpose of this post is to raise awareness among Lib Dems and to urge you to factor the unspeakable horrors that children suffer into any part of your work or volunteering or fund raising opportunities. It could be that you come into ...
Labour plans to end automatic benefits for young jobless Middle-class parents could be responsible for looking after their children until they are 22 if they cannot find a job, under new plans outlined by the Labour leader Ed Miliband. Under a Labour government, Mr Miliband will end the automatic entitlement to Jobseeker's Allowance for people aged between 18 and 21. It will be replaced by a means-tested benefit based on parental income. It will also be conditional on young adults taking part in training courses and trying to find work. Mr Miliband's pledge reflects a recognition of anger among some ...
Conservative seat. Resignation. The Liberal Democrat candidate is Paulina Watson. Contact: Jasper Gerard (07818666262) Last time contested (2014): Con 619 (E) LD 510 UKIP 441 Lab 147 Ind 98 Green 65
Fri 20th
12:40
World Cup Review 3: Spain tamed, England all but eliminated, and where a nation has been and where i...
[IMG: 5jpq] First to the really big news: Spain is out of the World Cup after only two matches played. Seven days into the tournament, no less. Already my prediction for the whole shebang is in tatters - I had Spain going out to Argentina in the semis. It should also be noted that they are the first defending World Cup Champions to ever be the first team out. Talk about precedents you don't particularly want to be setting. So how did this happen? How did a team, who in 2008 looked unstoppable, become so terrible? Because it wasn't just ...
Source: New ScientistFiled under: Uncategorized
This picture made me realise how times change and over not too long a period either. [IMG: rsz_bruce_tom_bill_roy_&_john] It was taken in @1992 and shows (left to right) 5 Lib Dem Maghull Town councillors – Bruce Hubbard (still a local councillor in Maghull), Tom Smith (a lovely man who died some years ago now), Bill Chambers (he went to live in Spain), Roy Cornell (retired and living in Ainsdale – The chap of Roy's Roundabout fame) and John Sharman (still to be seen around Maghull working hard for Rotary). But it was the fact that they all had a tie ...
[IMG: labour to lib dem defect] Cllr Rob Appleyard of Westfield ward, Bath and North East Somerset, has joined the Liberal Democrats. Quoted in Now Bath, he says I've been proud of Labour's stance on education, but I've been disappointed at the way they have played games over our children's futures. The Liberal Democrats have worked hard to keep all our children's centres open. But instead of engaging with the Council on this most important issue, I've watched the Labour Party's narrow focus from the sidelines for no more than political point scoring. When we are talking about services that ...
The Scottish Liberal Democrats aren't in Government at the moment. Despite that, the small Parliamentary group has had quite an impact in the past 3 years. Willie Rennie has had Salmond squirming at First Minister's Questions over his associations with ... Continue reading →
Fri 20th
10:30
Why we need Liberal Democrats: Consensual Stop and search of under 12s in Scotland halted
[IMG: Police stop and search] The Scottish Liberal Democrats aren't in Government at the moment. Despite that, the small Parliamentary group has had quite an impact in the past 3 years. Willie Rennie has had Salmond squirming at First Minister's Questions over his associations with Rupert Murdoch and has been pivotal in securing extra funds for colleges, childcare and free school meals. Back in January, it came to light that 500 children under 10 had been stopped and searched by Police in 2010. That's bad enough. Last year that figure was just 88 short of 3000. Scottish Liberal Democrat Justice ...
Kids whose time is less structured are better able to meet their own goals, study shows (tags: ) Company just appointed an algorithm to it's board to make investment decisions (tags: ) 10 Scientific Ideas That Scientists Wish You Would Stop Misusing (tags: ) The Princess Bride: how does Thibault cancel out Capoferro? (tags: ) Christian schools defend use of American textbooks with hardline views on abortion, evolution and homosexuality (tags: ) The MoJ doesn't even know who it has contracts with (tags: ) Deprivation Britain: Poverty is getting worse - even among working families, according to major new study ...
Here's some of the articles that have caught my attention in the past couple of days... Damian McBride, 40 weeks, 40 days: a time for warriors Damian McBride calls on Ed Miliband to recruit Dan Hodges as his 'wartime consigliere'. I think. http://bit.ly/UgGAZ3 lordashcroftpolls.com Ashcroft poll of 17 Lib Dem held seats and targets. Big Q for me is where the Ukip vote goes http://bit.ly/1lBMu2H New Statesman | Tim Farron: Lib Dems must not rule out support for a minority government He's quite right: "Tim Farron: Lib Dems must not rule out support for a minority government" http://bit.ly/1so7zkR How qualitative ...
Bury Youth Cabinet, supported by Bury Children's Trust Board are holding a Youth Market. Young people from across the borough have created items to sell at this special market event. The most successful trader on the day will have the opportunity to run a stall for one day on Bury's World Famous Market. In order to obtain a stall at the market, young people have attended training delivered by Barclays bank and completed a business plan. There will be a variety of home made gifts and goodies so come along and support the young people of Bury.
[IMG: Milton Keynes - Sunrise] Lib Dem Local Government Conference 27-28 June ALDC and the LGA Lib Dems' annual Local Government Conference takes place on Saturday 28th June at the Jury's Inn, Milton Keynes. The Conference will be a unique opportunity for hundreds of Liberal Democrats councillors, candidates and activists to meet, share experiences, and take advantage of specialist training designed specifically with the 2015 local elections in mind. Speakers include: Malcolm Bruce MP, Deputy Leader of the Parliamentary Party Cllr Subhan Shafiq, Liberal Democrat Mayor of Milton Keynes Mayors Dave Hodgson and Dorothy Thornhill Simon Hughes MP Stephen Williams ...
The accompanying plan is available here.
A few months ago, the Internet sensibly zeroed in on the real question posed by the second Hobbit movie. "The Desolation of Smaug" clearly refers to the gigantic monetary disturbances brought about by the greedy lizard. CNBC and Slate were amongst many who followed up on Frances Woolley'sobservation about the depression Smaug caused over Middle earth when he took [...]
The Labour press team said that their twitter account had been hacked, but whatever the reason their suggestion that everybody should have their own owl seems to have hit the spot. The Times reports that it was the news many had been waiting for in the owl-fancying community, although few could see quite how Mr Miliband would live up to the promise given the relative inelasticity of owl numbers compared with, say, mice or rabbits. Suddenly, Ed Miliband had been transformed from Wallace and Gromit to the world of Harry Potter. He now had an effective means of communication, an ...
The Welsh Government need to think more broadly to address transport issues around the M4 in South East Wales. My party's preference is for an integrated approach that combines, investment in pubic and sustainable transport alongside road improvements instead of building a new M4. I don't believe a new motorway at a cost of £936million is the best solution for moving people and goods in and out of South Wales. The M4 around Newport is indeed a bottleneck but there are numerous often spoke about improvement schemes which can help alleviate some of the traffic in this area. Improving the ...
